Republican Senators Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham Tour Rio Grande on Border Visit
A group of Republican senators visited the southern border on Friday as President Joe Biden continues to face scrutiny amid a recent migrant surge. A surge in migrants at the Texas-Mexico border has posed problems for the Biden administration, with GOP lawmakers seizing on the issue. Texas Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn led the delegation of 18 for a first hand assessment of the child migrant influx. At a news conference, Cruz said the Biden administration was at fault for the unfolding crisis. U.S. authorities reported more than 100,000 encounters on the southern border in February, the highest since a four-month streak in 2019. Encounters have averaged about 5,000 people per day throughout March, which would be about a 50% increase over February if those figures hold for the entire month, according to a senior Border Patrol official, who spoke to reporters Friday on condition of anonymity to discuss preliminary figures. More than 16,000 unaccompanied children were in government custody as of Thursday, including about 5,000 in substandard Customs and Border Protection facilities. President Joe Biden, whom many migrants see as more welcoming than his predecessor, pushed back on suggestions that his administration’s immigration policies are responsible for the rising numbers. At his first news conference since taking office, Biden said Thursday that the government will take steps to more quickly move hundreds of migrant children and teenagers out of cramped detention facilities. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/qt/live, or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app. Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake: https://cor.us/surveys/27AF30 Connect with us on… YouTube: / bloomberg Breaking News on YouTube: / bloombergquicktakenews Twitter: / quicktake Facebook: / quicktake Instagram: / quicktake
