Houston Chronicle by Benjamin Wermund 2/7/2023
"We really need to have that balance between immigration and border security, and get serious," official tells Republican-led panel.The top border patrol agent in the Rio Grande Valley told a panel of lawmakers on Tuesday that Congress needs to act on immigration reform, or else the historic number of migrants crossing the southern border will become the norm.
"It’s time," said Gloria Chavez, the chief patrol agent in the Rio Grande Valley sector that has been the site of the bulk of the crossings, which topped 2 million for the first time last year. "If we don't have the right policies or consequences, the world is watching us and we’re going to continue to see these large migration flows from around the world entering here at our southern border."
The hearing comes as the Biden administration has touted a 97-percent drop in illegal crossings in recent weeks under a new plan to allow asylum-seekers from certain countries to live and work in the U.S. for two years.
The plan allows up to 30,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to enter the U.S. each month, provided they apply for entry via a phone app from their home countries. The administration has said as many as 30,000 migrants from those countries who cross the border illegally will be turned back to Mexico each month under a new agreement, as well.
Texas and other GOP-led states are suing to stop it.
Chief patrol agent Chavez did not advocate for specific changes, aside from repeatedly calling for more resources for border patrol, but urged lawmakers to "embrace change."
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https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/border-patrol-pleads-help-biden-touts-drop-17769008.php
