Opposition To Border Surge Splits Congressional Hispanic Caucus
The debate over immigration reform has shifted to the GOP-led House of Representatives. And on Wednesday, President Barack Obama met with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to discuss how they might proceed. But there is some division in the caucus over border security.
The immigration reform bill that passed the Senate included a $46 billion border surge amendment that requires more border fence and the doubling of the number of Border Patrol agents.
Several congressmen from Texas who have districts on the border are opposing the border surge.
Congressman Pete Gallego has a massive district that runs along the West Texas-Mexico border. He said he spoke out against the border surge in the meeting with Obama.
“Having traveled most of the border last weekend, I can tell you that I didn’t find a lot of support for the wall and I didn’t find a lot of support for doubling the men in the Border Patrol," Gallego said.
But Gallego rejects the characterization that the Congressional Hispanic Caucus is split. He said they are focused on trying to get the GOP leadership to stop ignoring immigration reform and then they will work out their differences.
