Cornyn calls on Biden and Harris to visit southern border: ‘Y’all come visit’

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) has called on President Biden and Vice President Harris to visit the U.S.-Mexico border amid an ongoing surge of immigrants.

Cornyn made the plea to the White House in an op-ed for The Dallas Morning News published Tuesday, titled “Y’all come visit and learn about the border.”

The Texas Republican wrote the editorial with Reps. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) and Henry Cuellar (D-Texas).

“The momentum for this crisis has been building for months, but no significant action has been taken to address it. The president and vice president have yet to even visit the border,” the lawmakers wrote.

“When asked why, Vice President Kamala Harris said she is interested in doing work that leads to real results as opposed to ‘grand gestures,’ ” they continued. “We agree, which is why we’ve spent significant time meeting with officials in Texas who are on the front lines of this humanitarian crisis.”

The plea from the trio comes as Harris spearheads administration efforts to curb the flow of migrants from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.

Last week, Cuellar wrote a letter to Harris highlighting the “severe burdens” the surge has placed on his community.

The Biden administration has faced bipartisan criticism for its handling of the influx of migrants. According to data from Customs and Border Protection, over 180,000 migrants have been apprehended at the border in May alone.

The lawmakers have introduced bipartisan legislation with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), dubbed the Bipartisan Border Solutions Act, aimed to address some of the issues caused by the crisis.

The measure would establish regional processing centers, prioritize the scheduling of immigrant cases during a surge, create a pilot program to establish an efficient way to decide asylum cases and focus on protections for unaccompanied migrant children.

Cornyn, Gonzales and Cuellar wrote that Border Patrol is “spread thin,” and that officers “lack the facilities and resources to fairly and humanely process the current influx of migrants.”

“As the administration considers the best path forward, there has never been a more important time to hear from the men and women who live and work in border communities and have for decades,” the Texas congressmen wrote.

“Our message to President Biden and Vice President Harris is: Come to Texas. Visit the border. Listen to locals. Take a look at our bipartisan bill. And let’s address this humanitarian crisis together,” they wrote.