On Thursday morning, Congressman August Pfluger (R-San Angelo) spoke with media members about his recent trip to the border wall.
Pfluger visited the border wall near Weslaco alongside Gov. Greg Abbott and former President Donald Trump on Wednesday.
Thursday’s Zoom meeting started with Pfluger relaying information that he said he was told by law enforcement at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“The biggest impact to West Texas is the rise in crime due to drugs,” Pfluger said.
Pfluger also spoke on the importance of completing the border wall.
The Congressman from San Angelo also took the opportunity to talk about The Illicit Border Tunnel Defense Act, which according to a press release from Pfluger’s office, is a measure to secure the southern border by directing Customs and Border Patrol to develop a plan to counteract illegal underground tunnels under the U.S.-Mexico border.
“I’m asking Congress to pass a piece of legislation that would give resources to Customs and Border Protection agents and other law enforcement agencies to prevent the illicit drug trafficking that is on the rise at record numbers,” he said.
When Pfluger was asked about directing additional funds toward agencies to help people who are seeking asylum, he said only 1% show up for their court date. Pfluger went onto further explain that there needs to be reform with the immigration system to see how it can be more efficient or more effective.
Pfluger also pushed back when asked about non-border counties declaring disaster declarations, like Midland County, when border counties haven’t declared those same declarations.
“The amount of illegal immigrants that are coming into this country right now suggests only one thing — that is a crisis,” Pfluger said.
