House Speaker Paul D. Ryan led a delegation of House Republicans on a six-hour tour of the U.S.-Mexico border Wednesday, seeing firsthand by helicopter, horse and boat the security challenges of keeping out undocumented immigrants President Trump wants to block with a costly wall.
“When you see with your own eyes the many challenges facing our law enforcement professionals along the border, it gives you even greater respect for the work that they do day in and day out,” Ryan said.
But he did not comment directly on the border wall that is opposed by many Democrats and some in his own party, who worry Republicans committed to reining in government spending will not find billions of dollars for a huge construction project.
Ryan’s visit to the Rio Grande Valley on the southern tip of Texas began with a protest outside the U.S. Border Patrol Station in McAllen, where about 100 activists gathered Wednesday morning hoping to meet with him. But the speaker arrived early and was already in the building before they came, the Monitor of McAllen reported.
Protesters have mobilized nationally to fight the Trump administration’s promised crackdown on illegal immigration. The administration stepped up this week with new policies that dramatically expand the number of migrants targeted by authorities for deportation.
Ryan has not formally responded to the new orders, but in January he promised at a town hall event that there would be no “deportation force.”
On Wednesday, the speaker was joined by House Republicans representing southern border states: Rep. Michael McCaul (Tex.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee; Rep. John Carter (Tex.); Rep. Martha McSally (Ariz.) and Homeland Security officials. The media were not allowed on the tour.
The lawmakers heard from agents who apprehend undocumented immigrants crossing from Mexico — a majority of whom are fleeing violence in Central America — and turn themselves in to authorities. They learned how those who enter the country illegally are processed and held in detention centers. They saw the varied geography of the region. But they did not meet with residents of the communities around the border, leading to criticism from local advocates.
The tour was the highest profile of several visits by members of Congress during the February recess. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) rode along with Border Patrol agents last week. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) led five GOP lawmakers on a separate tour of the Rio Grande Valley this week. Cornyn has taken a more nuanced approach than the president and some lawmakers to building a wall, saying that enforcement and technology must accompany any physical barrier.
And Democrats in the Congressional Hispanic and Border caucuses met with community groups to denounce the wall as a detriment to immigrant communities.
Juanita Valdez-Cox, executive director of LUPE, an advocacy group founded by activist César Chávez, told the Monitor she expects negative rhetoric from Congress to escalate once Ryan returns to Washington.
“This visit is for him to be able to say that he’s been here and seen the Rio Grande Valley, when in fact he is neglecting to hear the stories and concerns from the people who live here,” Valdez-Cox said. “My fear is that it’s a plan to be able to justify Trump’s wall.”
McAllen is a fast-growing city of 141,000 in the Rio Grande Valley, which last year ranked as the busiest sector for illegal border crossings, largely because of a surge in unaccompanied children and families from Central America.
The river snakes through the region, forming the natural border between the United States and Mexico. It serves as a reminder of the complicated topography of building a wall, since it contains rivers, mountains and other rugged terrain.
Congress is beginning to assess the cost of building the president’s signature campaign promise. Trump has vowed to make Mexico cover the cost, but the Mexican government has balked at the plan. At the moment, the project has no reliable price tag. Trump has estimated the cost at $8 billion. Recent congressional legislation pegged the number at $10 billion, and construction experts say it could be more than double that.
Congressional Republicans seem amenable to underwriting the wall themselves — at least at first — although some budget hawks have said they want cuts to other federal spending to compensate. About 600 miles of the 2,000-mile southern border are covered by fencing that ranges in height from three feet to about 20 feet.
