Texas Rep. Burgess says border crisis is 'worst' he's ever seen as migrants arrive in liberal cities
Martha's Vineyard declares humanitarian crisis over migrants sent over by Governor Ron DeSantis
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Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas., applauded Governors Greg Abbott, R-Texas., and Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., Friday for sending migrants to liberal hotspots to show Democrats what border communities deal with on a daily basis.
Rep. Burgess joined "Fox & Friends First" to discuss how Abbott and DeSantis brought media attention to the border crisis and the hypocrisy from liberals as they speak out against the move.
"I assure you it is on the front pages of every small Texas town, every small Texas county where they're having to deal with this on an ongoing basis. And it has gotten worse month over month, and it is the worst I have ever seen," said Burgess.
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Burgess said he pressed Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Beccera on whether Texas communities are given any notice before a group of migrants crosses over the border. As a result, Burgess did not receive answers.
"Thank Goodness Governor Abbott has had the foresight to begin to push this story onto the national stage because that's where this discussion needs to occur," Burgess said.
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Burgess argued the Biden administration's open-border policy provided "business opportunities" for smugglers and cartels.
Despite the influx of drugs, including fentanyl, entering the United States, Burgess said HHS has prioritized "how to push kids through the system faster."
"We're getting kids out to people who are not their parents, not primary relatives. We're sending them out to secondary sources. And that's not the way it's supposed to be. That's not the way current law reads. … But Secretary Mayorkas changed it individually."
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Burgess said policies like this are encouraging trafficking and children are going missing.
"In Houston, where they've simply lost 60 kids. Who knows what happened there? But do you worry about trafficking? I do. And that's why really the administration needs to get a much better handle on this. And it starts with border security," Burgess said.
A woman, who is part of a group of immigrants that had just arrived, holds a child as they are fed outside St. Andrews Episcopal Church, Wednesday Sept. 14, 2022, in Edgartown, Massachusetts, on Martha's Vineyard. (Ray Ewing/Vineyard Gazette via AP)
Burgess argued that the amount of illegal immigration is overwhelming border states.
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"You can't deal with those numbers in a rational and really humane fashion."
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The Biden administration will consider "litigation options" this week against Republican governors sending migrants from the border to Democratic cities, according to a report.
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The Friday meeting involving White House officials along with Homeland Security, State, Justice and Defense departments will also discuss other border issues amid a record number of migrants entering the country illegally, Axios reported.
The meeting was scheduled before Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sent two charter planes full of migrants to affluent Martha’s Vineland in Massachusetts on Wednesday, but after months of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey sending busloads of migrants from the border to places like New York City, Chicago and Washington, D.C. Abbott also sent two buses of migrants to Vice President Kamala Harris’ Washington, D.C. home on Thursday.
Fox News' Brie Stimson contributed to this report