This week, Representative Mike Garcia (CA-25) visited the southern border with a group of House Republicans. Garcia went to the border to see the crisis firsthand. The members toured the Fort Bliss Emergency Intake Site, the Paso Del Norte Border Crossing, the El Paso Sector Centralized Processing Center, and portions of the border wall with U.S. Border Patrol officials.

At Fort Bliss Emergency Intake Site, Garcia was concerned by a range of things that were highlighted during the tour and meeting, including that there were no security cameras on campus, sponsors for illegal immigrants were not fully vetted, and the facility administrators were not aware of what they were spending nor their budget.

“I was shocked to learn that when children, ranging from 13 – 17, were matched with a sponsor, the sponsor was not fully vetted. We were told they are not doing criminal background checks, home-site visits are on a case-by-case basis, and they are not properly vetting to ensure children are going to actual family members. Not only were we not allowed to take any photos at this facility, but we were told there are no security cameras anywhere on the facility – that is very concerning. This facility raised many safety and security concerns for me, but also financial concerns. As an Appropriator in Congress, it was concerning to learn that facility administrators had no concept of how much they were spending on the facility,” said Garcia.

Later in the day, Garcia met with U.S. Border Patrol officials and toured the El Paso Sector Centralized Processing Center. 

“The U.S. Border Patrol officials we met with had a good understanding of how much running the facility cost, what was working, and what was not working. Many of the agents raised concerns over the possibility of Title 42 being removed – one agent estimated a 50% personnel increase at minimum for his facility would be necessary if Title 42 was removed. The agents shared how the border wall was a tool for them and they needed more support and tools to help them secure the border. They are woefully understaffed and undersupported. In Congress, I will work to ensure we support our Border Patrol Agents and fight against the repeal of Title 42,” said Garcia.

Garcia also toured portions of the border wall. Many parts of the wall had gaps wide enough for a grown man to easily crawl through. Next to many portions of the broken wall, were piles of the new, improved border wall that is fully paid for and leftover from the former administration.

“This trip reiterated a few things for me – it reiterated that this is truly one of the worst humanitarian and national security crises our nation has ever seen. The top takeaway is that we need to secure our border,” said Garcia. 

In addition to the sites visited, Garcia and his colleagues were supposed to visit the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC), a border facility run by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), but they were denied entry at the last minute. 

“I am extremely frustrated that the Biden administration blocked us from entering EPIC. I was looking forward to a productive discussion with DEA officials about how our lack of border security is impacting the opioid epidemic as well as the illegal marijuana grows crisis in our backyard in California’s 25th District. Unfortunately, we were denied access to the facility and blocked from doing our Constitutional duty of providing oversight to federal facilities. Rest assured, I will continue to push for answers and access from the Biden administration. Americans deserve answers and transparency,” said Garcia.

Clck here to watch coverage on Garcia’s trip on Fox News’s Sean Hannity.

Click here to watch coverage on Garcia’s trip on FOX LA.