Young Oak Kim: “I visited the southern border last week in Eagle Pass, Texas, to see the situation at our border firsthand and to hear…”

“I visited the southern border last week in Eagle Pass, Texas, to see the situation at our border firsthand and to hear from Border Patrol, landowners, judges, and community members on how this is impacting them. This was my fourth border visit since I have been in Congress. The crisis at our border is worse than ever. Just last month, CBP reported 302,000 illegal crossings. That is enough people to fill out the Anaheim Angel Stadium nearly seven times over, just from one month. I heard from Border Patrol who said they are spreading themselves thin as we see more crossings. They have become caretakers instead of devoting their time to handling the backlog of illegal migrants or working to protect our border. The border facilities are expensive. In fact, the Del Rio and Eagle Pass facilities alone cost $25 million to maintain every month. This doesn't include the salaries of Border Patrol agents. I heard from county leaders who said that every week they perform autopsies on dead migrants found at the border. The price that both migrants and our communities pay is staggering. Meanwhile, we have some reports of the Biden administration storing unused physical barriers and technologies at taxpayers' expense that could be used to help secure our border. The numbers are startling, and the stories are heartbreaking. As a mother, grandmother, and immigrant who came here legally as a young girl, seeing these migrants being exploited by cartels breaks my heart.…”