The record numbers of migrants coming across the nation's border were "totally preventable," and the blame lies with President Joe Biden, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, who led a delegation of Congress members to the border this week, said Friday.
"These are inhumane conditions (that) President Biden created," the Louisiana Republican said on Fox Business' "Mornings With Maria." "Vice President Kamala Harris was put in charge but won't even come down and see this. It's so bad, she doesn't want to be associated with it yet she's the person in charge of it on behalf of the Biden-Harris administration. It's inexcusable."
Scalise said he and his colleagues spent a number of hours with Border Patrol agents last night, including going to a processing facility around midnight near the Rio Grande River, where they saw "dozens of people" coming across the border in less than an hour.
"(They know) the door is wide open because of President Biden's new policy," said Scalise. "He got rid of the stay in Mexico, the remain in Mexico policy, a highly effective tool President (Donald) Trump used to work with Mexico to keep people seeking asylum on the other side of the border in Mexico, while they make those requests, most of them are denied."
But now, people can "walk right across the border" if they have young children with them, said Scalise.
"We saw scores and scores of young children, we're talking months old, maybe just a few years old," said Scalise.
He added that there are sexual assaults that are occurring during the migrants' trips north to the United States as well, and "that's not only heartbreaking, but it is criminal."
Scalise said his delegation is looking into visiting the Donna, Texas detention facility, where more than 4,000 people are crowded into a location that, given the COVID-19 separation requirements, should hold no more than 100.
"They will tell you you can't go to places of business, restaurants can't have 25% capacity, but this has got over 4,000 in a facility that is established for maybe around 100," he added.
Meanwhile, there is a humanitarian cost to the migrant surge, as well as a physical one, he said, referring to reports that it costs $60 million a week to house the immigrants.
"There is no plan for what to do with these people once they come across the border," said Scalise. He also commented about Biden's multi-trillion infrastructure bill, pointing out that there was bipartisan interest in the matter when Trump was president, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would not start a negotiation.
"So, if they want to negotiate something that is paid, for that is responsible, that is focused on building roads, bridges there is a lot of interest there," said Scalise. "If they want to just raise taxes and spend trillion dollars of dollars on things that have nothing to do with roads and bridges carrying out the Green New Deal, paying off union bosses, that is not where we are, and frankly not where America is."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.