EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A Republican congressman whose Texas district has become the nation’s hotspot for unauthorized migrant crossings is calling for stepped-up deportations of those ineligible for asylum.
“Let’s surge immigration judges to the border. Let’s get cases heard in days not years, and if a person does not qualify for asylum, which is nine out of 10 of them, we deport them back to their country of origin. You do that, and this crisis comes to an end,” U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, told Fox News’ America Reports on Wednesday.
Gonzales represents a Texas congressional district that includes 800 miles of border with Mexico. Eagle Pass, Texas, is part of his district. The city north of the Rio Grande from Piedras Negras, Mexico, has reported more than 10,000 migrant crossings between lawful ports of entry in the past week.
“I visited a (holding) facility with a maximum capacity of 1,000. There were nearly 6,000. I’ve never seen it this high,” Gonzales told Fox. “The human toll is rising. I worry about my agents, I worry about my first responders, I worry about the American citizens that live along the border. […] Four-thousands are coming over a day. Yesterday we processed 4,000. We are on a treadmill. It’s only going to get worse.”
NewsNation reported that a record 12,600 migrants crossed the border between ports of entry on Monday, while 12,200 came across on Tuesday. More than 23,000 migrants were in custody for processing as of Tuesday.
The White House is currently negotiating with GOP senators who are holding up funds for war-torn Ukraine and for Israel’s effort against Hamas terrorists in exchange for more border security. Gonzales says a consensus is emerging on raising the bar for credible fear interviews – which are a path for migrants to get a court date in U.S. immigration court and be released into the country.
“Everyone is essentially in agreement we need to raise the credible fear standard, but that alone will not solve (the crisis). We need to deport people that don’t qualify for asylum,” Gonzales said.
To qualify for asylum, a foreign national arriving must demonstrate a founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, national origin, membership in a particular social group or political opinion, according to the U.S. Code.
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