Portman at border: Biden won’t call it a crisis
Ohio Sen. Rob Portman was part of a bipartisan delegation at the Mexican border Friday looking for answers to what he views as the “crisis” of unaccompanied children flooding to the U.S.
“We’re going to make sure we understand what’s actually going on down there and come up with better solutions,” he told reporters Wednesday before leaving for Texas late Thursday night.
Portman began his visit by taking part in a night operations brief and riding along with Border Patrol members.
“It was stunning to see how many people, including unaccompanied children, unlawfully crossed the border during my ridealong last night,” the senator said in a statement Friday morning.
The delegation plans to check out ports of entry, facilities where the children are housed, and talk to Federal Emergency Management Administration staffers who have been dispatched by the Biden administration in response to the influx of young people coming to the border.
“This should not be a partisan issue. This should be an issue where everybody acknowledges a crisis at the border. The administration will not call it a crisis,” said Portman, who organized the visit in his role as the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
He also visited the border in July 2019 with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Vice President Mike Pence.
Portman said the number of unaccompanied minors increased by 62% in February over January, which translates to 9,500 children who have overwhelmed America’s ability to care for them until their cases are resolved.
“It’s a very sad situation for these kids, and a lot of these families, because they are being put into border patrol detention facilities. And it’s crowded, and it’s a facility not made for kids,” the Cincinnati Republican said.
Federal requirements that they be held for no more than 72 hours are regularly bypassed because there is nowhere to send them.
“This is really a tough situation. My hope is, what we’ll be able to do is stop the incentive that’s now been created for young people and families and individuals to come to our border and seek entry into the United States.”
Portman faulted the Biden administration for changing the policy of President Donald Trump, who made the children wait on the Mexican side of the border, often in squalid conditions.
The Ohioan joined 40 GOP colleagues earlier this week in a letter asking for a reversal of Biden’s cut-off of funding for a border wall “to restore order at the border.” The wall was touted by Trump as being paid for by Mexico.
Portman said the current surge is worse than ones under Trump in 2019 and President Barack Obama in 2014 — and judging from past patterns even bigger numbers may be on the way.
The senator also expressed concern about illegal drugs, especially fentanyl, coming across the border with the surge. He said the amount of fentanyl seized by border agents has tripled over the past four months from same period last year, and authorities believe they are only stopping 10% of the total.