The 800 miles of U.S.-Mexico border that Rep. Tony Gonzales represents are " unacceptable" for border measures.

Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, whose district spans 800 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, said the methods employed to prevent illegal immigration are "unacceptable" but refrained from criticizing Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

To prevent migrants from accessing the United States, Abbott has installed razor wire and floating obstacles in the Rio Grande. 

A Texas state trooper expressed concerns about the techniques in an internal complaint, claiming that they put migrants, particularly small children, at risk of drowning and serious injury. The policeman also said that Texas officials had received orders to deny them water and force them back into the river. The trooper described rescuing a woman suffering a miscarriage while trapped in the razor wire on one occasion. 

"The border situation has not been compassionate in the least. Gonzales, a Republican, said on "Face the Nation" on Sunday, "I think you're seeing the governor do everything he possibly can just to secure the border." 

He said, "I don't think the buoys are the problem," pointing out that migrants drowned long before the floating obstacles were placed. "The buoy is just a very tiny, tiny part of the river," 

When questioned about whether it was acceptable that such actions were harming migrants, Gonzales responded, "This is not acceptable. It's unacceptable and hasn't been since two years ago. 

The Biden administration has threatened to file a lawsuit against Texas if the barricades are not taken down, claiming that doing so violates federal law and poses "serious risks" to the environment and public safety. Abbott didn't seem likely to give in, though. 

Mr. President, we shall see your victory in court, the governor tweeted on Friday.

 

Gonzales urged Congress to take the initiative and present solutions. 

He declared, "I don't want to see one person walk one foot into the sea and have us essentially address the subject of some of these really cruel conditions they're in. 

We cannot just rely on the president to resolve issues. Gonzales added, "We can't wait for governors to try and repair it themselves. The "Congress has a role to play in this." 

To alleviate the labor deficit, Gonzales just sponsored the HIRE Act, which will make it simpler for immigrants to get temporary work visas. He said that the Biden administration is "doing very little, if anything, to focus on legal immigration," and he declared that he would "much rather" see a strategy to deal with legal avenues than a focus on illegal admission to the country. 

What are we going to do with all the folks who are already here in the millions? What should we do about the millions of immigrants entering the country illegally? What can we do to stop them from stealing these hazardous trucks? Work visas are one of those choices, he added. 

Gonzales would not, however, confirm if the bill would ever be put to a vote on the House floor until he had received assurance from Speaker Kevin McCarthy.