The Daily Signal - Overwhelmed Border Agents ‘Don't Have Resources’ They Need, Texas Lawmaker Says

Episode Date: May 13, 2021

Texas is a border state, and Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to discuss how illegal immigration is affecting it. "With my military background, 20 years in the Air Force, it's incumbent upon commanders to visit troops in the field," Pfluger told The Daily Signal. "We've asked the commander in chief to visit the Border Patrol agents, because what stood out to me was, when you talk to these folks, they're trying to the best of their ability to do their job to secure our country, and they don't have the resources," the freshman Texas lawmaker said. "In fact, this administration is cutting resources, halting construction on the border wall, not giving the technology that they need." Pfluger also shares his take on the 178,622 illegal immigrants who were detained along the U.S.-Mexico border in April. That's the highest number of monthly apprehensions in at least two decades. He also discusses how demand for gasoline is skyrocketing after the Colonial Pipeline was hacked by a criminal organization called DarkSide. We also cover these stories: House Republicans oust Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming from her position as GOP Conference chairwoman, the third-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says that the United States is professing “ironclad support” for Israel as the Jewish state faces ongoing attacks from Hamas, a Palestinian militant group.  The government is asking Americans not to hoard gasoline amid increased shortages on the East Coast stemming from the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the Daily Signal podcast for Thursday, May 13th. I'm Virginia Allen. And I'm Rachel Del Judas. As a lawmaker from a border state, Congressman August Flugher of Texas sees the impact of the current crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border firsthand. He joins me today on the Daily Signal podcast to discuss his perspective on the crisis and the recent numbers just released from Customs and Border Protection that shows that 100,078, 622 illegal immigrants were detained along the U.S. Mexico border in April, which is the highest number of apprehensions in at least two decades. And don't forget, if you're enjoying this podcast, please be sure to leave your review or a five-star

rating on Apple Podcasts and encourage others to subscribe. Now onto our top news. House Republicans have ousted Representative Liz Cheney from her position as GOP conference chairwoman. On Wednesday, Republicans held a closed-door vote to deter. whether or not to remove Cheney from her position. The vote was by voice only, so there is no written record of who voted for and against Cheney, but it is reported that the vote against her was overwhelming. Representative Cheney has received harsh criticism from GOP members for speaking out against former President Donald Trump's claim that the 2020 election was stolen and for voting to impeach the president after the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio, said after Wednesday's vote that you can't have a conference chair who recites Democrat talking points. Representative Cheney did not waver in her criticism of Trump leading up to Wednesday's vote. On Tuesday evening, she spoke candidly on the House floor per NBC News. Take a listen. Today we face a threat America has never seen before. A former president who provoked a violent attack on this capital, in an effort to steal the election, has resumed his aggressive effort to convince Americans that the election was stolen from him. He risks inciting further violence.

Millions of Americans have been misled by the former president. They have heard only his words, but not the truth, as he continues to undermine our democratic process, sowing seeds of doubt about whether democracy really works at all. Elise Stefanik, Republican of New York, is expected to replace Cheney as the new GOP conference chair. On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the United States is professing ironclad support for Israel as the country faces ongoing attacks from Hamas. In a readout with Austin's phone call with Israeli Minister of Defense Benjamin Gantz, Austin said he strongly condemned the launching of rockets by Hamas and other terrorist groups that targeted Israeli civilians. Since Monday, over 56 people have been killed in Gaza and six in Israel after Israeli defense forces performed multiple airstrikes on the Gaza Strip

in revenge for a bombardment of thousands of rockets fired by Hamas to Israel. The government is asking Americans not to hoard gasoline amid increased shortages on the East Coast. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said during a White House press briefing on Wednesday that this is a time to be sensible and to be safe, adding that we understand the concern in areas where people are encountering temporary supply disruptions, but hoarding does not make things better. The gas shortage is the result of a cyber hack on the coastal pipeline. The pipeline supplies 45% of the East Coast fuel.

As of Wednesday, 28% of gas stations in North Carolina were reporting outages, according to GasBuddy. And 18% of gas stations in Georgia and 16% of gas stations in South Carolina were also reporting outages. GasBuddy also reports that gas prices have hit a national average of $3 per gallon for the first time since 2014. A school board in Oklahoma City is denouncing a new law that bans critical race theory saying it is protecting white fragility. The eight members of the Oklahoma City Public Schools Board of Education all condemned the new law that Governor Kevin Stitt has signed, which bans critical race theory from being taught in public schools. Critical race theory, Heritage Foundation scholars Jonathan Butcher and Mike Gonzalez, say,

makes race the prism through which its proponents analyze all aspects of American life, and it underpins identity politics, which reimagines the U.S. as a nation driven by groups, each with specific claims on victimization. Ruth Feeleis, a black and Native American member of the eight member Oklahoma City Public Schools Board of Education, said via Fox News that, as a district that's over 80% students of color, this is definitely an insult. It is a situation that is so egregious to me. Now stay tuned for my conversation with Texas Congressman August Fulcher on the situation at the border. Virginia Allen here, I want to tell you all about a great way you can stay in the know on all the news the Daily Signal cover. social media. The Daily Signal has an active presence on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. We are

constantly posting news stories, clips from interviews, videos, and more across all our social platforms. Follow the Daily Signal on social media so you can get all the latest content from Reels on Instagram to video clips on Facebook and political commentary on Twitter. We are joined today on the Daily Signal podcast by Congressman August Lugar of Texas, Congress with Lugar, it's great to have you with us on the Daily Signal podcast. Well, thank you for having me. It's great to be with y'all. Well, in February, you were on a trip to the border with Leader McCarthy and some other members of Congress. Can you just start off by telling us what you saw?

You know, it's amazing what we saw at that point in time, and now a couple months later, how much has changed and how much worse the situation the crisis has actually gotten. We were there at a time when I think a lot of these, the reversal, of Trump's policies by the Biden administration was really starting to hit and people were starting to see it for the first time. And I'll give you an example, you know, the numbers of folks that were surging towards the southern border had started, but the facilities, you know, were not yet at full capacity until, no kidding, the very day that we showed up in El Paso, in that sector, that facility was built about a year and a half ago and it was built for a maximum capacity of

1,040 people. Well, it had never reached capacity until that day that we were there. And now, obviously, we saw 172,000 encounters with illegal migrants in March. We saw 178,000 encounters in April. We've got almost 750,000 to date in this current fiscal year and anticipated 2 million in the entire year. That's the estimated number. That does not include the gotaways. And so, what we saw was the sheer number of people who were being trafficked by coyotes and cartels and traffickers and being used to get across the border. And the clear message from the administration is our border is open and yet nothing is being done. No visits from the president or the vice president and a reversal of all the policies that we knew were working with the last administration.

Is there any one particular thing, Congressman Flueger, that stands out to you from this trip to the border, something you learned, something you saw that really characterized the time for you. Absolutely. And with my military background, 20 years in the Air Force, you know, it's incumbent upon commanders to visit troops in the field. And we've asked the commander in chief to visit the border patrol agents, because what stood out to me was when you talk to these folks, they're trying to the best of their ability to do their job to secure our country. And they don't have the resources. And in fact, this administration is cutting resources, halting construction on the border wall, not giving the technology that they need. And they're pleading with us,

telling us, we have people who are on the known and suspected terror watch list that are crossing into this country. They've apprehended four already this year, and yet they don't have the resources. And so it's just unconscionable to think that the administration is not providing those that would keep us safe with the resources they need to do their job. What do you want people to know about the situation at the border that the mainstream media isn't reporting on. If there's one or two things you could highlight and bring up on that topic, what would you want to say people need to know this? And this is what they're not hearing from the media. Well, it's impacting daily life in the state of Texas. And I suspect in Arizona and other border states. And it's impacting our ranchers and our

farmers with literally hundreds of people illegally crossing through their land every single day. high-speed chases that are knocking down fences, you know, trying to get the ones that they do encounter. In my district in Midland, Texas, just last Friday, ICE uncovered 33 illegal immigrants who were in a stash house who have been trafficked. And so, you know, you think about this. And I've talked to the ambassadors of these countries. And in fact, had a conversation just today with one. And I said, well, you know, is there a difference between this administration and last administration? Of course, he's an ambassador.

He has to work with whoever the private. is. He said, yes, the message is loud and clear to those in Central and South America and around the world to come to America at this point in time. I mean, that's just unbelievable that the mainstream media won't cover that and won't hold them accountable for the lack of policies to keep us safe. Well, CPP released the numbers for April of detentions along the U.S. Mexico border, and they said that when over 100,000, 178,622 illegal immigrants were detained along the border in April, and they're saying this is the highest number in at least two decades. So what's your perspective on this really significant jump that's that we've seen?

You compare that to last April, 17,000, but yet the message coming from the administration is, well, the numbers have plateaued. You know, it's just unbelievable that we're looking at 172,000 in March, 178,000 in April, and yet they still won't take a trip to the border to see this. I mean, You know, look, the fact is that our communities are literally suffering a huge crisis. And if the administration is unwilling to look at it from the security of Texans and Arizonans and New Mexicans and other border states, well, why don't we look at it from the safety and security of the kids who are being trafficked and just start there? Because this ambassador that I talked to told me that they are being recruited from traffickers

every single day. And it's not that hard because they know that it's going to be very easy to get into this country, even easier than if you're trying to come as a U.S. citizen and you don't have a COVID test to prove that you're COVID negative. Yet, as an illegal immigrant, you can literally walk across the border. Well, Congress with Flurry, you've talked about how the president and vice president, they haven't been to the border to assess the situation. And the administration itself is saying that what's happening at the border isn't a crisis. They've said that on multiple different occasions. you agree with their assessment of the situation? No, it's absolutely a crisis. And I think the disheartening thing here is that national security is not partisan. National security is not a

Republican or a Democrat thing. National security involves everybody here in our country. And yet the administration refuses. I mean, even doing away with the words, I just want them to visit the border, to see the facilities, to understand that their policies have caused this surge. How much would you say the crisis that the border is costing the U.S. taxpayer when it comes to handling the transportation, the feeding, all these different things of those who cross over? How is this impacting the U.S. taxpayer? Well, it's billions of dollars, and I think we probably don't even know the full extent of it right now. I've introduced a piece of legislation called the American Border Rescue Plan because Governor Abbott, the governor of Texas, called me and asked our delegation

and myself to help because the state of Texas is actually now shouldering the burden, the financial burden for protecting our own border because the federal government has abdicated on this issue. And so, you know, literally Texans are now paying federal taxes that should be going towards border security and they're not. And the state taxes that we pay are helping the DPS troops that the governor is sending down, the National Guard troops that the governor is sending down and the other resources. And so what we're asking for in this piece of legislation would reimburse the state of Texas and others who use state funds to do what the federal government should do, which is to protect the border.

We've touched on this Congressman Flueger, but Vice President Kamala Harris was appointed by President Biden as the point person for the border crisis. And as you highlight, you know, the president has not made a trip to the border. Vice President Kamala Harris hasn't made a trip to the border. What is your reaction to this and what do you think needs to happen? Well, we've sent several letters to the vice president and the president asking them, inviting them, in fact, to come down and see the border for themselves. And so I think it just speaks to their priorities and that they really have abandoned border states. You know, I wish New Mexico would look at this in Arizona. I mean, the fentanyl that is crossing the borders, the drugs that are crossing the borders, the children that are being trafficked.

I mean, it is a tragic situation. They use this word humane a lot. This is not humane. They have literally put children into one of the worst situations that you can imagine. And when we find 33 of these migrants illegally held and trafficked in my district, and 90 in Houston, just a couple of days later, you know, we understand that their priorities have nothing to do with security and safety and humanity. And they're just completely mispriorizing the American people in our need for security.

Well, on the day he was inaugurated, President Biden stopped all construction of the border wall. You, I believe, with some colleagues, had sent a letter to the administration talking about the suspension of border wall construction. Can you tell us a little bit about that if you've heard in response where that stands right now? Well, no, we haven't heard any response, but I think the lack of response is exactly the answer, and that is no action is being taken. And, you know, in addition to that letter and others, you know, we in my district have one of the first emergency intake centers for migrant children. And in the middle of night with no communication and a severe lack of transparency, the federal government, the HHS, Health and Human Services, set up a facility to take in the overage of children who are crossing the border. I mean, we have a record number of children, unaccompanied minors. And so another piece of legislation that I've introduced is the Migrant Facility Transparency Act, which basically is so simple, but it's not happening.

We are asking for the federal government, the Health and Human Services Secretary, to just let us know what the plan is, what the actions are, what's the strategy. When are you going to be able to close down and get back to normal operations? Because these are emergency centers. That's not being done. There's no response to the letter that you mentioned and no response to any of our. inquiries. Well, before we wrap up, I wanted to ask you about the recent situation with the coastal pipeline and gasoline problem. We're seeing right now a criminal organization called Darkside hacked into the coastal pipeline, and now there's just been this basically reaction

of demand for gas and the whole crisis with this pipeline being hacked. What's your perspective on what's happening and how should this be responded to? Well, it's a serious situation. As a conservative, I'm grading the president on two things. Have you made our country more safe and more prosperous, more secure and more prosperous? And, you know, coming from a district in West Texas that produces, with the Permian Basin there, 40% of our country's oil, tremendous amount of natural gas, energy security is national security. Energy security has everything to do with our economic security and our national security in this colonial pipeline, which produces 45% of the East Coast fuel needs being hacked into and having a criminal organization holding it

hostage is a serious threat. And I think it highlights the need for resiliency and also should highlight and be a wake-up call for the American public to understand that our way of life has everything to do with the affordable, reliable energy that's produced in my district and in others and has a allowed the American, you know, dream to really take off in the last 10 to 20 years. Well, on that note, and after you, as we wrap up, you had pointed out on Twitter that the national average for gas prices is the highest it's been since President Obama was in office in 2014. What would you say, Congressman Flugher, about what this has to say about the future? Well, you know, I think that there's a couple of factors that go into this.

but and some of them are just, you know, market-based factors from the pandemic. You know, but certainly when you look at the policy and the all-out assault that the Biden administration has on fossil fuels, and in fact, today I had a chance to question Secretary Kerry, former Secretary of State Kerry, in his role as the energy leader for the Biden administration, and ask him why we would give our power away. And I asked him, I said, you know, do you believe, that our country's base load capacity requirement for electricity can be served by just wind and solar. And he said no. And then, you know, we ran out of time. But what I really want to know is then why are you assaulting the industry, the oil and gas industry, which can provide clean, affordable, reliable

energy to 330 million Americans and so many other people around the globe? And so, you know, it's beyond me why the administration has assaulted this industry. But the things that it is done for our country and for the rest of the world are so incredible. And we're going to keep fighting to protect it because it really does make our quality of life and others around the world so much better. Well, Congressman Fulger, thank you so much for joining us on the Daily Signal podcast. It's been great having you with us. Thank you for having me. I sure appreciate it. And that'll do it for today's episode. Thanks for listening to the Daily Signal podcast. You can find the Daily Signal podcast on Google Play, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and IHeartRadio.

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