70.6 F
Mobile
59.8 F
Huntsville
66.1 F
Birmingham
53.3 F
Montgomery

‘Huge problem’: Tuberville visits southern border, says crisis ‘getting worse’

The illegal immigration crisis is “getting worse,” U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) said during a Friday visit to the southern border in Eagle Pass, Texas.

Alabama’s junior senator, a staunch border security advocate, met with U.S. Border Patrol agents to discuss how the mass influx of illegal immigrants continues to overwhelm the agency.

While at the Rio Grande, National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd noted that migrants were taking up residency across the nation, including Alabama.

“So all of these people when they cross, they’re going to Alabama,” Judd told Tuberville. “They’re going to Ames, Iowa, they’re going to Maine, they’re going throughout the entire United States … And of course the drugs, which comes right across this river when these cartels pull Border Patrol resources out of the field.”

More than 3.8 million foreign nationals have illegally crossed the border since President Joe Biden took office, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data.

Border Patrol agents made 2.38 million encounters with illegal immigrants during fiscal year 2022, which ended in September. This is the highest number of encounters ever recorded and represents a 37% increase from the previous fiscal year, the Associated Press reported.

“What makes the National Border Patrol Council so upset is knowing that policies, if this administration actually wanted to stop this, they could stop it tomorrow,” said Judd. “But they care more about illegal immigrants than they do United States citizens.”

According to a release issued by Tuberville’s office, more than 900,000 illegal immigrants have escaped CBP and penetrated the nation’s interior.

Tuberville described the crisis as being “a huge problem” that is “getting worse.”

“Thank you, American taxpayers, because you’re paying for every dime of this, which costs billions of dollars,” said Tuberville.

Dylan Smith is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

Don’t miss out!  Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.