(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Congressman Glenn Grothman (WI-06) commended Vice President Kamala Harris for finally visiting the Southern border. This comes after the Biden administration received Grothman’s letter, cosigned by 56 other Member of Congress, imploring the Vice President to take the crisis seriously and visit the Southern border.
“Whether this is Vice President Harris’s own decision or if President Biden directed her to go does not matter, the important thing is that now she is finally going to have the opportunity to learn more about the border crisis that she helped create,” said Grothman. “Every border patrol agent I have spoken with highlights the difference between Washington politicians talking about the border crisis and the actual situation on the ground. You truly cannot know the extent of the crisis and the practical steps we can put back in place to alleviate the problems. We have a chance to create real change in our immigration system, but that goal depends on whether the Vice President intends to take the crisis seriously and make this a meaningful trip or simply check the box of visiting the border.
“I have visited the Southern border multiple times and have spoken with officials on the ground who have briefed me on the unique challenges in all nine sectors. I know that it will be very difficult for Vice President Harris to learn everything on such a short trip. Based on my experience at the border, I am giving the Vice President 15 questions as a starting point to ask border patrol agents and local officials.”
15 Crucial Questions Vice President Harris Must Ask on Her Trip to the Southern Border
- The Migrant Protection Protocols empowered the Mexican government to hold asylum seekers on the south side of the border until their immigration court date. President Biden has since walked away from them. What effect did the nullification of the protocols have on the number of people crossing our Southern border from Mexico, Central America, and around the world?
- Asylum Cooperative Agreements with Central American countries allowed migrants to seek protection within the region. What effect did ending the Asylum Cooperative Agreements have on the number of people entering Southern Mexico and what effect did this have on people coming through Mexico seeking to enter the U.S. illegally?
- Have the types of drugs you see streaming across the border changed over the last few years as marijuana has been legalized in several states?
- A lethal dose of the drug fentanyl is 2mg, or just a few grains, and it has been pouring into the U.S. by record amounts. How can we curb the massive amount of fentanyl coming into the U.S.?
- What percentage of women and girls are sexually assaulted as they journey to attempt to enter the U.S. illegally?
- Have any of the children in the family units encountered at the Southern border been shown by DNA evidence to not be children of the adults with whom they are entering?
- What is the expected cost per immigrant that must be paid to the cartels to enter our country, and does it vary for Mexicans, Central Americans, Brazilians, Asians, and people from other parts of the world?
- Illegal immigrants who are not processed by the border patrol are called “got-aways”. As the border patrol must spend time doing paperwork on the huge increase of children and families, has the number of “got-aways” increased from June 2020 to today?
- How effective are dogs in looking for fentanyl and other illicit drugs, and should we be equipping more border patrol agents with this resource?
- Does a border wall system make the jobs of border patrol and ICE agents easier or harder?
- In order to know in which countries we need to focus on fixing the root causes of immigration, which have you seen most represented at the Southern border during the first half of 2021?
- Have my and the President’s public comments about immigration over the past year caused more people to come here illegally?
- How many immigrants drown or are dehydrated to death at the southern border every year?
- How has the morale of the border patrol been affected by the fact that I and the President have not met with these brave men and women in the first five months of our tenure?
- What policies can we implement from Washington to make your job of securing the border easier?
