Texas Border Business
WASHINGTON – Yesterday, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) sent a letter requesting to meet with President Joe Biden, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Acting Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Norris Cochran about the adoption of common sense solutions to relieve border agents and communities bearing the brunt of the recent influx of migrants.
The Congressman cites the growing number of migrant and unaccompanied minor apprehensions in his district and increased hospital admissions as signs of concern for the 15th District of Texas. The region has 4.7 percent of the population, but experienced approximately 10 percent of the overall COVID-19 deaths in Texas.
“We need to address this migrant issue head-on with the input of stakeholders that know the border region best,” said Congressman Gonzalez. “It’s imperative we get this situation under control or we are looking at another crisis on our hands. I look forward to meeting with President Biden and Secretaries Mayorkas and Cochran to discuss the challenges and potential solutions to the influx of people at our border.”
In the letter, the Congressman lays out three potential solutions to address the crisis:
“We must provide immediate solutions to this problem. Here are three common sense solutions that I believe will help immediately:
1. We need to make available the manpower and facilities needed to safely, efficiently, and compassionately process migrants and transport them to other regions when local facilities are at capacity.
2. Our local resources, including hospitals, local governments, and non-Governmental organizations should not be overwhelmed. I urge coordination with them and when they are full, we need to be ready to designate additional facilities north of the Falfurrias Checkpoint.
3. Process asylum requests in the home country of the applicant, and provide these resources and infrastructure in advance of policy changes.”
The full letter can be found here.
