Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar (TX) has sent a letter to Vice President Kamala Harris, urging her to visit the southern border as “severe burdens” hamper border patrol agents and American citizens in surrounding communities.
“I write to invite you to the U.S. Southern Border to observe the ongoing humanitarian crisis and share the perspective of Americans who live there. I encourage you to join me and other Members of Congress, while we visit with the people on the ground who deal with these issues every day,” Cuellar wrote in the letter, which the Washington Post first obtained.
According to Cuellar’s letter, the “rapid rise in the number of migrants arriving at our Southern Border has placed severe burdens on our communities.” In addition, the Texas Democrat noted challenges following the coronavirus pandemic, certain travel restrictions, and economic hardships.
Cuellar concluded his letter to Harris by warning her that the border crisis “will only worsen” and suggested President Joe Biden’s administration must take a “proactive approach” to “relieve everyday Americans.”
“The situation on the border will only worsen, as more migrants are expected to arrive,” Cuellar concluded. “The Administration needs to take a proactive approach to create a sustainable system of humanitarian aid and relieve everyday Americans of that responsibility.”
Harris, whom Biden has tasked with overseeing the migrant crisis, has yet to make a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border, telling NBC’s Lester Holt, who pressed her on the issue, that she will visit “at some point.”
“At some point, you know, we are going to the border,” Harris told Holt. “We’ve been to the border. So this whole … thing about the border. We’ve been to the border. We’ve been to the border.”
When pressed further on the matter that Harris, herself, has yet to visit the border since taking office in January, she laughed and responded, “And I haven’t been to Europe. I mean, I don’t understand the point that you’re making. I’m not discounting the importance of the border.”
Last week, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) took aim at Harris and the “Biden border crisis” in a tweet referencing the number of people encountered crossing the U.S.-Mexico border last month.
“180,034—the number of individuals encountered by Border Patrol in May,” McCarthy wrote. “That smashes any monthly record in recent memory. Even if VP Kamala Harris went to Europe, it wouldn’t change the fact that the Biden Border Crisis is out of control.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who made several visits to the border during his time in office, has also called out Harris’ unwillingness to make a trip to the border.
“Here’s what it looks like when a Vice President visits the Southern Border… It’s Time @VP Harris. It’s Time to Deal With the #BidenBorderCrisis,” Pence wrote in a tweet last week.
As previously reported by Breitbart News, Border Patrol apprehensions had jumped almost 700 percent in May alone when compared to the same time in 2020 under former President Donald Trump. “Agents apprehended more than 172,000 migrants at the U.S.-Mexico boundary, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials report.”
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