U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA-01) this month visited the U.S.-Mexico border and described what he saw as “a complete and total disaster” that threatens national security.
Carter, in an emailed newsletter to his constituents, said he joined other members of Congress and toured U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Department of Health and Human Services facilities in Brownsville, Donna, and McAllen, Texas.
“Elections have consequences, and policies have consequences. What we are seeing now are the consequences of the policies that this [Biden] administration has instigated and that they have implemented. That is something we all need to be concerned about. You’ve heard the figure,” Carter said at a news conference in front of the border.
“We went to a facility that has capacity at 250 and, today, has 3,500 people in it. Of that 3,500, there are 2,700 of them who are children. It’s had up to 5,000 people in it. And it was intended for 250. We had pods intended for 33 that had almost 400 people in it, and they’re telling me at times that they had 600 to 700. You know all the figures. But it’s more than just the figures. And it’s more than just about people. Yes, we need to be concerned. It is a humanitarian crisis.”
In his newsletter, Carter said that coyotes — people who smuggle illegal immigrants across the U.S. border, typically for a high fee — are successfully diverting attention at the border. Agents thus have to move away from critical border security needs to tend to humanitarian positions for which they have not trained.
At the press conference, Carter said it’s not just illegal immigrants coming through.
“No, it’s much more than that. It is the illegal drugs. In my home state of Georgia, this week, we have had overdoses of Fentanyl. There is enough Fentanyl that comes across this border to kill every American several times over. In one month we were told that $400 million of illegal drugs came through this border. This has got to stop. You can sit at home and you can think ‘Oh, this is just about the illegal immigrants.’ No, it is not. It’s about much more than that,” Carter said.
“It is about the cartels. It is about the cartels, and it is about the drugs. You can sit at home and you can think ‘Oh, the border. They’ve got a problem down there with those people coming across. It’s not going to impact me.’ No, it is going to impact you, and it will impact you and your community because those drugs are going to impact your community.”
Carter, in closing, said that U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris should examine the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border firsthand.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Don’t look now, Rep Carter, but the problem is already in your state. Open your eyes.