AMARILLO, TX — Congressman Ronny Jackson (TX-13) released the following statement as to what he saw this week at our southern border. Jackson’s visit was part of an official tour with fellow members of Texas’ congressional delegation.

The delegation toured detention centers run by both Border Patrol and Health and Human Services (HHS), saw from helicopters and boats illicit points of entry along the border, and met with local stakeholders and property owners to learn more about how the Biden Border Crisis has negatively impacted their livelihoods. They also received briefings from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), HHS, the Texas National Guard, and Texas State Troopers.

Jackson said: “I visited the border numerous times as Chief Medical Advisor to President Trump, and I have never seen anything like these current conditions. The situation at our southern border is a public health crisis, a haven for criminal activity, and a threat to our national security.

The Biden Administration is quick to push stringent COVID-19 rules on the American people while practically stacking illegal immigrants on top of each other in border facilities then releasing them into the community. I would describe what I saw at a border patrol processing facility this week as a COVID-19 incubator.

As far as I can tell, cartels are the only beneficiaries of Biden’s Border Crisis. Make no mistake, cartels are in control of our southern border. Stakeholders are stretched thin, and the influx is so bad that border patrol agents are being taken away from protecting the border to process illegal immigrants, leaving the border susceptible to crimes like human and drug trafficking.

The only thing that can turn this crisis around is smart policymaking. It is time for President Biden to admit that his decisions created this crisis and return to effective Trump-era immigration policies before this situation gets any worse.”

Photos from Jackson’s visit, including photos from a border patrol processing facility near McAllen, can be found here. Over 5,700 illegal immigrants were being housed at the facility though it has a maximum capacity of 250 under COVID-19 protocols.

Other members of the delegation included Representatives Jodey Arrington (TX-19), Brian Babin (TX-36), Michael Burgess (TX-26), Louie Gohmert (TX-01), Chip Roy (TX-21), Pete Sessions (TX-17), Randy Weber (TX-14), Beth Van Duyne (TX-24), and Troy Nehls (TX-22).

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