Lawmakers across political spectrum head to border to see crisis for themselves

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Nexstar) — Over the past three weeks, dozens of Congressional delegates and staffers have gone to U.S.-Mexico border to see for themselves what’s going on at controversial detention centers.

Rep. Will Hurd, (R-Texas) has invited lawmakers to visit his district that stretches from San Antonio to El Paso and includes 820 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border.

“The more people that see the border, the better,” Rep. Hurd said. “I wish I could make a law that you can’t talk about the border unless you’ve been to the border a certain number of times.”

New York Republican, Rep. Tom Reed was among 15 other members of the House Problem Solvers Caucus that headed to McAllen, Texas Friday. The Problem Solvers Caucus is a bipartisan group in the House of Representatives that comprises of about 48 members, equally divided between Democrats and Republicans.

Reed said his intention was “to see firsthand the crisis that I think we all now recognize exists there.” Reed also said the heart of the mission to McAllen was to see if the group of lawmakers could find a solution for the immigration problem.

Senate minority leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer led a delegation of a dozen senate democrats to the border Friday as well.

“We hope, desperately hope, that the conditions have improved over the last several weeks,” Schumer said.

But traveling to the border doesn’t solve the problem on its own. Lawmakers keep trying to find a solution in Washington, D.C. but can’t agree on what it should be.

Republicans are pushing to overhaul asylum laws and allow migrant children to stay in U.S. custody for more than 20 days. On the other hand, Democrats say the focus needs to be on keeping migrant families together and in good conditions.

“No one should want to see these kids treated so inhumanely,” said Schumer. He also believes it’s time to put aside political differences to solve the crisis.