Del Rio Mayor Outlines Border Crisis Impacts
Lozano: “My citizens are furious. They’ve completely lost all respect for this Administration.”

WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. John Katko (R-NY), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, held a fireside chat with Bruno Lozano, Mayor of Del Rio, Texas, about the crisis on the southwest border. Lozano, a Democrat, expressed deep concern over migrants being released into his community without COVID-19 testing and urged the Biden Administration to reverse the executive orders that created this crisis.

The conversation highlighted that when we actually focus on the facts on the ground, there’s no denying the extent of this crisis. Democrats on the border recognize it, but when will the Administration actually listen to them?

Click here to listen to the conversation.

Highlights from Mayor Lozano’s comments:

Enticing Illegal Crossings: “It is a crisis… It’s a failed policy and it’s enticing [migrants] to come here. Our constituents and citizens are extremely frustrated. We have people who are struggling to make rent and make ends meet, and yet they see headlines that $86 million is [being spent on hotel rooms for] persons that aren’t even from the country and have entered unlawfully.”

Furious Citizens: “My citizens are furious. They’re upset. They’ve completely lost all respect for this Administration… Here we are with this broken policy. We have unlawful persons coming into our city and taking our resources. Meanwhile, the legal port of entry – the legal way to enter and exit this country – is closed because of COVID-19 restrictions.”

Signaling Open Borders: “As soon as President Biden took office and was conducting executive orders to reverse so many policies under the previous Administration, it resonated with the transient population… They know now that they can cross over, and the majority of them will be able to stay in the United States… Most recently, without even court dates.”

This Is A Crisis: “We have a completely disconnected narrative being told to the American population that this is not a crisis, that things are under control, when in fact they’re not.”

Stretched Thin: “Because we’re so close in proximity to the border, we don’t know if some of these individuals were released by border patrol or if they actually made it across illegally. The border patrol is stretched too thin trying to respond to the hundreds of individuals that are crossing daily.”

Enabling Criminal Activity: “[Migrants] are paying the cartels to navigate them through these communities in Mexico to find a crossing point along our border. All the advances we’ve made to dismantle the cartels over the last decade are being ruined. They’re making a killing off of those who are destitute.”

Strong Message: “We’re enabling unlawful behavior. We need to send a strong message that entering unlawfully is not condoned. That would defund the criminal organizations in Mexico and get our border patrol agents back on the ground patrolling the area and looking out for the population that does not want to get caught.”

Reverse Course: “[If the Biden Administration’s executive orders were reversed], it’d be so beneficial. We’d be so grateful. We would breathe a sigh of relief.”

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