[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 1739]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        CRISIS AT OUR OWN BORDER

  (Mr. BURGESS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, this past weekend, along with other members 
of the Border Caucus, I traveled to the lower Rio Grande Valley sector 
of the United States border.
  Mr. Speaker, the flood of illegal immigrants across the southern 
border has proven to be a mounting American crisis, greatly impacting 
Texas families.
  You simply cannot understand the magnitude of the problem in the 
lower Rio Grande Valley unless you see it for yourself. It is 
impossible to understand the characteristics of this ever-changing 
region and why it is so difficult to manage. That is why I make regular 
visits to the border.
  President Obama missed an opportunity when he refused Governor 
Perry's request to come to the border while he was in Texas in July 
2014. I would renew that call for our executive to come to the border.
  The United States, as a Nation, has a sovereign right and 
responsibility to define and defend its borders. In order for this 
problem to be improved, the executive must travel to the border and 
have the will to make this a priority and get it done.

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