Democrat Representative Henry Cuellar of Texas said President Joe Biden should “just show up” at the southern border, saying it “would send a strong signal.”
Cuellar urged Biden to make a trip to see the border situation for himself.
“I don’t know why they keep avoiding the border and saying there’s other things more important than this than the border,” said Cuellar. “If there’s a crisis, show up. I think part of the battle is if he shows up and says I’m hoping to work on this and on this. Just showing up at the border would send a strong signal to the communities that he’s there, he cares about the border communities. Just show up; it doesn’t take much to just show up at the border.”
Last month, Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary, responded to a question about when the president last visited the border, saying, “he’s been there. He’s been to the border.”
Rep. Cuellar’s comments came soon after he joined a bipartisan congressional group including Senators Joe Manchin, D-W. Va, and John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, and Representative Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican, signed a letter calling on President Biden to extend Title 42 and continue allowing the restriction of entry into the U.S.
“With our current personnel and resources on the border already strained, we cannot afford to relinquish our only effective tool for controlling unlawful migration,” said Cuellar in a statement.
“My colleagues and I are committed to providing DHS with effective policies that will maintain operational control over the southern border and that do not require long processing times. However, creating those policies will take time. I urge President Biden to consider extending Title 42 beyond the Dec. 21 expiration deadline. Thank you, Mr. President, for your consideration,” read the letter.
Democrat Rep.: I don’t know why Biden administration keeps avoiding the border
Representative Cuellar criticized what he called a “whack a mole” approach to the Title 42 issue, saying it is critical.
“If there’s a surge in the valley, they’ll move people down there. If there are more people crossing, let’s say, Del Rio, Eagle Pass, they’ll move agents over there. Now they’re moving agents to El Paso. This is not the way to secure the border,” said Cuellar, adding his call for the president to visit the border and see the situation firsthand.
He continued, “I don’t know why they keep avoiding the border and saying there’s other things more important than visiting the border. If there’s a crisis, show up. Just show up.”
