WASHINGTON D.C., DC — House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman and Texas Congressman Michael McCaul gave insight to his colleagues before and after a lengthy meeting Thursday.
McCaul represents the state's 10th congressional district which includes Brazos County.
The hearing focused on the U.S. border crisis, and among the dozens of U.S. Representatives in attendance, addressed the international problem. It was heavily focused on Mexico's migration protection protocols.
The meeting followed President Joe Biden's administration reporting on their efforts in "doubling down on strategies to contain migration" as unauthorized border crossings surge across the southwest.
According to several media outlets, the U.S. Border Patrol reported the number of migrants apprehended in a single day approached an estimated 9,000. Included impacted areas are rural southern Arizona, as well as south Texas — both have seen large increases in migration.
And the issue has not gone unnoticed. A November NBC News poll showed that border security and immigration ranked third among concerns from voters who "felt so strongly about [it] that they might vote for or against a candidate on that basis alone." According to the poll, democracy ranked first and abortion second.
Before the four-hour hearing started, McCaul delivered opening remarks entitled, “The U.S. Border Crisis and the American Solution to an International Problem.”
"In my 20 years in Congress, including when I was Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, and as a former federal prosecutor in Texas tasked with securing our border, I’ve never seen our border this chaotic," McCaul said in the fully packed chambers. "Simply put, the border is broken. What we’re witnessing today is unprecedented. In total, since President Biden took office, we’ve had more than 7.5 million encounters at the southern border. This is the population of nine states combined."
McCaul's full opening remarks is in this video below:
There were three "expert witnesses" who testified on Thursday including former acting U.S. Department of Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Chad Wolf, who served under former President Donald Trump. Wolf said the department continuously looks into ways to address the problem and are aware of the situation.
After the hearing, McCaul tweeted, "Our border is broken and this self-inflicting wound is a direct result of this administration's failed policies — including repealing Remain in Mexico."
In its defense back in October, White House reps said that Congress approved funding for the wall construction when Trump was in office and the money couldn’t be used for other purposes.
