Sinema, Cornyn lead U.S. senators in first-hand look at border crisis

Independent U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and Republican John Cornyn’s bipartisan tour of the southern border concludes today, bringing a delegation of lawmakers to face the epicenter of the nation's immigration crisis.

“Today’s visit provided a sobering account of the very real challenges the men and women tasked with securing the border, border towns, and migrants experience every day,” Sinema said in a news release.

Sinema, the chairwoman of the Border Management Subcommittee, said an unsecure border, an overworked and under-resourced Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection force, and never-before seen levels of illegal immigration, asylum seekers, and coordinated smuggling efforts have “completely ruined an already broken system.”

Along with Cornyn, Sinema was accompanied by Senators Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., James Lankford, R-Okla., Chris Coons, D-Del., Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn.

The lawmakers began Monday in El Paso, Texas, with a briefing from U.S. Border Patrol on its operations there and toured the processing facilities. On Tuesday, the delegation heads to Arizona.

More 3.3 million illegal foreign nationals were apprehended or recorded evading capture by Border Patrol agents in fiscal year 2022, according to data obtained by The Center Square.