Vice President Mike Pence went to see the for himself just how bad the border crisis is at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Pence told reporters that it’s “tough stuff” and that Americans “can see this crisis is real,” after visiting an immigrant detention center in McAllen, Texas.
“This is tough stuff,” Pence continued. “That’s the overcrowding President Trump has been talking about. That’s the overwhelming of the system that some in Congress have said was a manufactured crisis.” (RELATED: Anti-ICE Protestors Replace American Flag With Mexican Flag At Colorado Demonstration)
“But now I think the American people can see this crisis is real,” he said.
While some Democrats have accused the men and women of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of abusing illegal migrants, Pence had nothing but good things to say about the “brave men and women … working tirelessly each day to secure our border.”
Thank you to the brave men and women of @CBP working tirelessly each day to secure our border. The work you do not only keeps our country safe but keeps the American people safe and we are so grateful for your service! pic.twitter.com/aK4St41YFd
— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) July 13, 2019
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan and some Senate Republicans were with Pence as he toured the Donna Processing Facility and McAllen Border Patrol Station in the Rio Grande Valley, a detention center for illegal immigrants. While there, Pence saw the overcrowding that results when 400 men have to occupy cages without beds. (RELATED: Hispanic Pastors Say They Didn’t See Any Horrible Conditions At Border Detention Center They Visited)
Pence commented in a Twitter post that described how the influx of illegal migrants has “overwhelmed our system.” Pence emphasized that this is no “manufactured crisis.”
The crisis at our southern border is not a “manufactured crisis”, it is real and is overwhelming our system. To show this, we also visited an overcrowded facility for adult men, many of whom have been arrested multiple times.
— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) July 13, 2019
Pence also took time to criticize CNN’s coverage of his trip, saying the network did not tell the “full story” because it did not provide a complete picture of the detention facilities.
“Rather than broadcast the full story, showing the compassionate care the American people are providing to vulnerable families, tonight CNN only played video of men in the temporary facility and didn’t play any footage of the family facility at all ignoring the excellent care being provided to families and children,” Pence said Friday on Twitter. “Our great @CBP agents deserve better and the American people deserve the whole story from CNN!”
Rather than broadcast the full story, showing the compassionate care the American people are providing to vulnerable families, tonight CNN only played video of men in the temporary facility and didn’t play any footage of the family facility at all…
— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) July 13, 2019