House Republicans are demanding information from Democrats regarding several partisan excursions to Mexico that allegedly included “coaching” migrants on how to enter the U.S. by exploiting immigrations laws.
FoxNews.com reported GOP members of the House Oversight Committee have written to Democrats on the panel asking them “to provide more details about a series of trips taken to Mexico while staff were touring border detention facilities.”
At least one Democrat has been “coaching” migrants there on how to exploit U.S. immigration law, Fox News said.
Fox obtained a copy of the letter to Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., from Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the top Republicans on the Oversight Committee.
The letter said there were at least two committee staff trips to Mexico in August, “one of which required Border Patrol agents to provide a special escort back into the U.S.”
Jordan wrote, “Although you have the authority to direct committee staff to travel internationally on official committee business, you have not explained why you authorized this travel into Mexico or what you sought to learn through these trips.”
He pointed out that Republicans didn’t even know of the trips.
Jordan said he suspected Democrats of trying “to delegitimize the administration’s border security efforts and vilify the men and women who protect our border,” Fox News reported.
The network explained: “Specifically, Jordan highlighted a report that said Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, was in attendance on one trip to Tijuana on Aug. 21. Escobar, who is not on the Oversight Committee, has been a vocal advocate of left-wing policies on illegal immigration.”
Escobar’s office is accused of coaching migrants in Ciudad Juarez on how to get the better of federal immigration law by, for example, pretending not to speak Spanish “to exploit a loophole that would let them enter the U.S.”
Escobar denied the allegation.
Jordan’s letter continued with questions about the reason for the trips, who delegation members met and why Escobar’s office was included.
And he wanted to know what “coaching” went on.
Democratic staff members recently were banned from Department of Homeland Security facilities close to the border because they have been disruptive and uncooperative during recent visits.
