Deb Fischer: “I am sure you have seen news reports about a group of four Americans who were recently kidnapped after driving across…”

“I am sure you have seen news reports about a group of four Americans who were recently kidnapped after driving across the U.S.-Mexico border. This week, two of them were tragically found dead. My heart goes out to the families affected by this devastating development. This is the latest in a string of incidents that underscore just how chaotic the situation is at our southern border. I know firsthand because I visited the border last week, along with a delegation of Republicans led by my colleague Senator Cornyn. We can read about what is going on down at the border. We can watch the news. But until you travel south and see the chaos there with your own eyes, you really can't fully understand the gravity of this situation. The numbers we hear reported are overwhelming. Migrant encounters this fiscal year have already stretched past 770,000. December hit a record for monthly encounters, at over 251,000. Sure, we talk about these numbers, but what really brings home what a crisis this is, is walking past an unfinished border wall, boating up and down the Rio Grande River, riding through the brush, and seeing the paths migrants use to sneak into our country. It is touring a raided stash house where a weapon was found, an illegal immigrant was detained, and a human smuggler was arrested. The faces and the voices of people on the ground in Texas who are directly hurt by border insecurity--that is what really brings home what a crisis this is.…”