The humanitarian crisis at the porous U.S.-Mexico border has become a political and humanitarian disaster as the new year begins, drawing renewed attention from both political parties.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, accompanied by 60 Republican congressmen including Utah Rep. Burgess Owens, is traveling to Eagle Pass, Texas, on Wednesday. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is also making plans for a visit this week as he faces an impeachment hearing in the House.
This attention comes amid a surge in illegal migrant crossings — more than 300,000 — in December, marking an all-time monthly high in the three years since this crisis has evolved. CBS News, which obtained government data, reported that the numbers also showed a record number of families traveling with children.
“This situation requires significant policy changes and House Republicans will continue advocating for real solutions that actually secure our border,” wrote Johnson in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. But Congress remains gridlocked, unable to pass the necessary spending bills that could bolster the strained resources at the border.
The funding for border security is currently tied to a foreign aid bill, which includes billions for Ukraine and Israel, complicating negotiations.
Congress fails to negotiate a border deal
But lawmakers on the right, like Johnson, want to see a separate border security bill passed. He’s backing House Bill 2, or the Secure the Border Act, and wants to see it passed before considering hefty foreign aid packages. HR2 would restart construction of the border wall, deploy more border patrol agents, strengthen laws against human trafficking, and end the Biden administration's catch-and-release policy while creating a stricter asylum process.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, on Tuesday, wrote a strongly-worded letter to his colleges, saying he refuses to support any funding measures for the U.S. or abroad until the border is secure. Roy said that while he commended Johnson’s planned trip to the Texas border, he said he would not be attending because the people at the border, including law enforcement agents, ranchers and local leaders, need “real” solutions instead of more meetings and press conferences, adding, “It’s time to act with urgency.”
Utah Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican, reposted Roy’s letter and said, “If Biden wants funding he must secure the border.”
With a possible partial government shutdown only 16 days away, lawmakers worked to strike a deal before Congress returns from recess, as Politico reported. But Lee said he “will not vote to fund the government until the border is secure,” in another post on X. He’s encouraged other Republicans to do the same.
A working group — consisting of Sens. James Lanford, R-Okla., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz — recently returned to Washington, D.C., to continue to try to hammer out a deal, according to CNN.
Migrants are still being bused across the country
Amid the gridlock, the flow of migrants has continued. At least 100,000 migrants coming in through Texas have been rerouted to Democrat-run cities across the U.S. under Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, as USA Today reported.
Gov. Abbott and other border state governors, like Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs of Arizona, have long expressed frustration with what’s asked of their states when the federal government doesn’t manage the border — something state and city leaders are now experiencing further north.
“Just last week, 14 chartered buses with migrants arrived overnight from Texas, the highest recorded number in a single night,” New York Mayor Eric Adams said on Dec. 27
Around 14,700 migrants were bused to New York City in December. When Adams issued an executive order last week to keep migrants from being dropped off in the city, including requiring a 36-hour notice, bus drivers switched to leaving these passengers at New Jersey stations.
Adams issued the order during a joint briefing alongside the mayors of Chicago and Denver, two other cities struggling to keep up with the surge in migrants. The three cities formed a coalition, calling on the Biden administration to help manage the incoming asylum-seekers.
In Chicago, hundreds of migrants were being chartered out on planes. The city’s mayor, Brandon Johnson said that while “Chicago will always be a welcoming city,” the federal government needs to step up to do what’s necessary.
Lee in a post on X said, “The federal government will run out of money in the next few weeks, requiring Congress to pass spending legislation.” But, he added, “Republicans in Congress can’t proceed with that process as if nothing had changed. It has.”
Lee predicted “Biden’s in for a rough ride” until the border is secured.