The Democratic representative for Texas and member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), Henry Cuellar, expressed his concern about the current immigration crisis and joined the Republicans’ request to implement more rigorous measures in terms of border security.
Cuellar shared a statement through X discussing how the Biden Administration’s immigration policy has directly impacted legitimate trade and the importance of taking swift action to prevent the border crisis from worsening further.
The representative reported that once again, rail operations were suspended in the cities of Eagle Pass and El Paso to allow the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) to redirect its personnel toward the processing of migrants, which directly affects the country’s economy.
CBP just announced that tomorrow at 8 AM, rail operations at bridges in Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, will be suspended to redirect personnel to process migrants.
The crisis at our border is seriously affecting legitimate trade.
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— Rep. Henry Cuellar (@RepCuellar) December 18, 2023
“This year alone, vehicle and rail operations have been suspended at multiple ports of entry due to an overwhelming number of migrants, worsening delays for truck drivers transporting goods and costing our economy millions,” Cuellar said. “The crisis at our border is seriously affecting legitimate trade,” he added.
In the statement, Cuellar clearly expressed the importance of taking “tougher measures at the border” as soon as possible.
Our border communities desperately need more federal resources, and we need tougher measures at the border.
We must secure the border now.
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— Rep. Henry Cuellar (@RepCuellar) December 18, 2023
The statements of the Democratic representative contrast with the CHC’s position on the border crisis. Last week, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus issued a statement urging President Biden to further moderate his stance on his willingness to handle the border crisis. This is after Biden suggested that he was open to negotiating with Republicans to reach an agreement that involves changes in border policies while ensuring continued financial support to Ukraine and Israel.
“We are deeply concerned that the President would consider advancing Trump-era immigration policies that Democrats fought so hard against,” the CHC said, suggesting that giving in to the Republicans’ demand would “set a dangerous precedent.”
