Search Results for: southern border – Page 3

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – The U.S. could see a record number of undocumented migrants crossing the southern border this year. Projections show more than two million people could attempt to cross by the end of September if policies don’t change. Senators who toured the U.S.-Mexico border last week said they saw the rush of undocumented migrants attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border firsthand.   “It’s like these big, flashing open for crossing signs, figuratively speaking here. And they were taunting us. In fact, they were saying some things that were so vile, the Border Patrol agents wouldn’t even translate it. They

MONTANA – Senator Steve Daines said the southern border is “out of control” and a “humanitarian crisis” after a visit to the border last week. “We visited the Donna Facility,” Daines said. “It’s a tent city they’ve constructed to hold these illegal immigrants. It’s designed for 250 maximum with COVID restrictions. The day we were there, Friday morning, there were 4,200 in that facility.” Daines also tied the situation at the southern border to problems with drugs and violence in Montana. “Violent crime, petty crime across our state, the homicides we’re seeing here in Billings, the increase, that’s oftentimes tied

Montana Senator Steve Daines is currently touring the border with other Republican senators. The senator spoke Friday and said issues on the southern have made their way to Montana.

 “20 years ago in Montana, meth was homemade,” Daines said. “It was homegrown and it had purity levels less than 30%.”

The senator has spoke about previously regarding the meth crisis in Montana, back in 2019 the senator brought Vice President Mike Pence to Billings to address the crisis.

“Today, the meth that is getting into Montana is Mexican cartel.” Daines said. “It has purities north of 95 percent far more dangerous, far more addictive, and it’s less expensive because they’re producing so much of it and then shipping it into our country.”

The senator says cartels and gang members are in Montana. 

“I spoke to one of my county sheriffs in Montana 48 hours ago,” Daines said. “He told me he was keeping seven Mexican cartel members in his jail in Montana the last couple of weeks. We have MS-13 gang members in Montana.”

During the course of the trip the senator said there’s more bureaucracy for Americans traveling abroad then for a person trying to cross the southern border.

“Where’s the common sense when a U.S citizen, if they leave the country and [want to] come back in they have to produce a passport and a covid test result,” Daines said. “That’s not true right now at the southern border and we’re scratching our heads and asking why.”

Senator Danes is a part of a tour with 18 other Republican and explained during this press conference that due to what’s taking place on the southern border Montana is being left exposed.

“We’ve deployed some of our northern border resources to help the southern border,” Daines said. “Every hour they spend processing the flood and the illegal immigrants coming across the border is an hour they’re being taken away from the frontlines defending our country.”

The senator says there is a “flood of Mexican meth, Mexican heroin, and Mexican Fentynal,” coming into Montana with an uptick in traffic over the course of the last 20 years.

MONTANA – Thursday night, 19 U.S. Senators, led by Border Patrol, visited the Mexico border along the Rio Grande River. Among them was Senator Steve Daines. On a press conference call with reporters, Sen. Daines detailed what he saw, and talked about the current situation at the border.

“We watched, in real time, crossings here on the Rio Grande. I was on the U.S. side, getting ready to watch more folks cross in a raft. We could hear Mexican cartel members with their flashlights. Very powerful floodlights shining at us from the Mexican side,” Sen. Daines said.

The senator says the cartels know that crossing the Rio Grande has a price.

“Sadly, these Mexican cartels are charging thousands of dollars per person to come across the southern border,” Sen. Daines said.

Signs on the ground mark a path through the foliage, for those crossing on foot to follow.

“They direct the illegal immigrants where to go once they cross the U.S. border so they can be apprehended and begin to be processed,” Sen. Daines said.

Women and children were seen in pens – a holding area for them when Border Patrol finds them. But what’s more alarming is the COVID-19 situation.

“They are seeing at least a 10% positive rate. In fact, we just saw young people that tested positive for COVID on one side of a fenced area, and the others on another side,” Sen. Daines said.

Sen. Daines was told there is a 1.2 million person backlog of asylum claims. But how does this all impact Montana? He says it’s drugs, specifically meth, heroin and fentanyl.

“If you speak with the DEA folks in Montana, they’ll tell you the source of meth, heroin and fentanyl is Mexico. It’s the Mexican cartels,” Sen. Daines said.

It’s another illegal business that causes big problems, but brings in big cash.

“They showed us a recent meth seizure, that they found here in this sector, that had a street value of over 2 million dollars,” Sen. Daines said.