Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) traveled to the border this week and spent time with Border Patrol during a night shift in McAllen, TX. While visiting the Rio Grande river, the Senators claimed they could hear cartel members “taunting Americans” and “taunting border patrol.”
“We are at the edge of the river; on the other side of the river is Mexico,” a video posted by Cruz on Twitter began. “On the other side of the river, we have been listening to and seeing cartel members, human traffickers — right on the other side of the river.”
Cruz went on to say that the cartel members have been “Waving flashlights, yelling and taunting Americans — taunting border patrol because they know under the current policy of the Biden administration they can flood over here.”
Cruz explained that the cartel members are receiving “$4,000 or $5,000 dollars a person to smuggle” illegal immigrants into the United States. Cruz pointed out that Biden’s policies currently allow for illegal immigrants to be released into the interior of the United States with no court date if apprehended by Border Patrol.
Live footage from the banks of the Rio Grande.#BidenBorderCrisis pic.twitter.com/aO4EyANrRQ
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 26, 2021
Sen. Collins detailed her experience in a thread on Twitter, she wrote, “1 AM — I spent the last 3 hours with Border Patrol on the night shift in McAllen, TX. 18 Senators learning about the huge influx, 3,000 people per day, including unaccompanied children, illegally entering.”
“Mexican cartels control who crosses the border. A young mother from Guatemala, sitting on an aluminum blanket with her 1-year-old, told me she paid smugglers $6,000,” Collins continued. “Border Patrol is overwhelmed, overworked, & discouraged by new policies. Agents took us through a dangerous path to the Rio Grande where we could hear the Cartel members taunting us across the river. Human trafficking, child abuse, & drug smuggling are rampant. This is a crisis.”
Border Patrol is overwhelmed, overworked, & discouraged by new policies. Agents took us through a dangerous path to the Rio Grande where we could hear the Cartel members taunting us across the river. Human trafficking, child abuse, & drug smuggling are rampant. This is a crisis.
— Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins) March 26, 2021
