U.S. Rep. Dale Strong (R-Huntsville) joined other Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee on a trip to El Paso, Texas, last week to witness the ongoing border crisis firsthand.
In addition to the thousands of migrants crossing the southern border each month, Strong has been concerned with the amount of fentanyl and other drugs being smuggled in. It didn't take long for him to realize how bad the situation really is.
"We just left the port of entry. We weren't there five minutes, and here comes a car loaded with fentanyl and heroin," Strong said in a self-recorded video on his Twitter page. "It's worse than you can imagine."
"We've got border agents who say they need more legislation," Strong continued. "We said to enforce the law were on the books, that are on the books — the same laws that were there when Donald Trump was president — and send them back to the country that they came from."
Days before his trip, Strong held a press briefing at his Huntsville office, where he emphasized the dire situation at the border and the importance of getting an in-person perspective.
"You've had an increase of about 800% of Chinese nationals that are coming across the southern border," he said. "You've got people being flown from other countries to Mexico to come into the United States through the southern border… The thing that everyone knows is what's coming with that, and that's fentanyl and heroine."
Strong said the official border crossings estimate is near 2.4 million, but unofficially, he said it could be up to 8 million.
"That's what it's going to benefit me as a U.S congressman, is to see firsthand what Border Patrol is dealing with, what they need, so that they can better manage this," he said at the briefing. "There is a sense that some don't want to turn this around, that they're not worried about the southern border. But it is a threat to the United States of America, and I believe it needs to be addressed immediately."
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