‘More and More Devastating’: Congresswoman Details Third Trip to Border

Rachel del Guidice /

Rep. Lauren Boebert just returned from another fact-finding trip to the southern border.

The Colorado Republican joins us today on “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss her trip, migrant children crossing the border that she ran into there, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s tally of the number of would-be illegal immigrants taken into custody at the border in June.

“I’ve gone three times now to the border, and each time, it’s just more and more devastating, and the reality of this crisis is brought more into perspective of what’s really taking place. I was down in McAllen, Texas, most recently with [former] President [Donald] Trump, and I saw groups of unaccompanied minors, dozens of groups of unaccompanied minors,” Boebert says.

“And these children didn’t have adults with them because of the Biden policies, because [President Joe] Biden is encouraging families to self-separate. If your child is 6 years of age or under, then you could cross with them, but if they’re older than that, then they can’t cross with you. So, they have a better chance of crossing the border without their children, putting their children in the hands of the [human smuggling] cartel and risking their lives.”

Also included is an interview with Rep. Louie Gohmert on how bad the crisis caused by the Biden Administration at our Southern Border has become.

We also cover these stories:

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Rachel del Guidice: I’m joined today on “The Daily Signal Podcast” by Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado. Congresswoman Boebert, welcome back to “The Daily Signal Podcast.”

Rep. Lauren Boebert: Thanks so much, Rachel. It is so great to be back with you.

Del Guidice: Well, it’s great to have you back on with us. Speaking of being back, you were just at the border again. We actually were there a few months ago. We went back again with former President [Donald] Trump. I just wanted to talk to you about some of the things you saw while you were there.

Boebert: I could talk about the border for days. I’ve gone three times now to the border and each time it’s just more and more devastating, and the reality of this crisis is brought more into perspective of what’s really taking place.

I was down in McAllen, Texas, most recently with President Trump and I saw groups of unaccompanied minors, dozens of groups of unaccompanied minors. And these children didn’t have adults with them because of the Biden policies, because [President Joe] Biden is encouraging families to self-separate.

If your child is 6 years of age or under, then you could cross with them, but if they’re older than that, then they can’t cross with you. So they have a better chance of crossing the border without their children, putting their children in the hands of the cartel and risking their lives.

One group in particular, they had even found a 7-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy on their journey and brought them into their group to have them travel with them so they wouldn’t be harmed.

And while I was talking to the Border Patrol agents who were processing them, they said, “This really isn’t the problem that is most destructive. The big problem is a mile east and a mile west where the criminal aliens and the cartel are running drugs, running these criminal aliens into our country, human smuggling.”

That’s where they find the rape trees where cartels rape women and then they hang their garments as trophies on trees.

And they said, “They know that we are preoccupied with these unaccompanied minors and we know that they know that we can’t do anything about what they’re doing because we’re focused here.”

And then just to see everybody brought into America, all they have to do is claim that they have a relative in the United States of America, and it’s chain migration, and they go to that person and we’re paying for them to be there. And they’re not tested for COVID when they are coming in.

So there’s just so much there at the border. And our Border Patrol agents, they want President Trump’s policies reinstated. They need resources. They need infrastructure there at the border so they can do their jobs and secure the border.

Del Guidice: Speaking of the border, the vice president, Kamala Harris, she was put in charge, the point person. And she went to the El Paso Airport and apparently stopped by a Border Patrol station but didn’t actually go to the border.

Boebert: She didn’t go the border.

Del Guidice: What are some of the things you wish you would have seen or some things you saw that she would have seen had she actually visited the border?

Boebert: I would love for her to see the incomplete border. That border is incomplete because Joe Biden canceled construction on Day One of his administration.

And I would love for her to see how porous the border is. I would love for her to see the terrain that these people are being encouraged to travel, the terrain that the children are coming alone through, and see that there truly is a crisis, see the overcrowding in so many of the facilities.

And then the facilities that aren’t 1,400% over capacity anymore, maybe they’re just 100% over capacity—well, they’re not over capacity because they’re being shipped all into America.

So that’s some of what I wanted [her] to see, but I really want her to look in the eyes of the Border Patrol agents who swore an oath to do their duty and secure our country, secure our nation, secure our border. And they aren’t able to fulfill that because of Biden’s policies.

Del Guidice: Customs and Border [Protection] just released the June numbers for the border apprehensions and those are, I believe, at least a month late because we’re well into July.

Boebert: Mm-hmm.

Del Guidice: And I believe it’s the highest number for this time of year in 20 years, is the figure that I saw. What is your perspective on these increasing numbers we’re seeing?

Boebert: We’re seeing an increase because of the policies that are implemented. I asked Border Patrol agents, I said, “Did you begin to prepare for a surge like this whenever you saw the administration was going to change?” And they said, “Yes, we began to build facilities. We knew that there was going to be an increase, which is like Mike Tyson says, ‘Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face.'”

And they said, “Biden’s policies have punched us in the face and we cannot keep up. We’re overwhelmed. We’re overrun. We’re understaffed and over capacity.”

There were, gosh, I don’t remember the numbers now, but in President Biden’s administration just last year, it was just such a small amount of unaccompanied minors that were in custody, and now there are a couple of 100,000 that were in custody, and it’s really devastating to see that increase. What numbers do you have for June?

Del Guidice: I think it was around 190,000 apprehensions.

Boebert: Yes.

Del Guidice: I think that was the ballpark of what they had said.

Boebert: Right. And now we’re on track to almost 2 million who have actually crossed, I mean, just in this fiscal year. And so it’s really devastating to have that encouragement of them to come over in this capacity.

Del Guidice: What is your perspective on the media’s coverage of the border? I know that with these numbers just being released for June in mid-July, if that had happened in the former Trump administration, would we have seen media talking about it?

Boebert: Of course we would have. We saw media talk about [former President Barack] Obama’s cages that he built and they blamed it on President Trump. But the media’s coverage has been very little. They have not covered this enough.

I’m grateful for you, Rachel. I’m grateful for you going to the border and seeing firsthand what’s happening there and bringing attention to that and getting that out there. That is so vital and so important.

But we even have Democrat congressmen like Henry Cuellar who go on the news and talk about the crisis at the border. His brother is a Border Patrol agent and they just talk about how hard that is, and it’s Democrat policies that are doing it. And it frustrates even Democrats.

Del Guidice: I know we saw this on our last trip to the border when we were together, but Cochise Elementary School, Cochise County, that’s a school that has to be on lockdown periodically because of the cartel violence and action there.

Boebert: That’s right.

Del Guidice: Are there any other unreported angles of the border situation that you want to mention while we’re talking about it?

Boebert: Yes. Well, not only in Cochise County are those schools on lockdown, but there’s also drug paraphernalia all around the school that they have to worry about the kids coming into contact with from people just dropping it off and running and fleeing.

And I think something that’s very underreported is what’s happening to the people who live on the border. The American families that live on the border are the farmers, the ranchers. Their properties are being destroyed. Their homes are being broken into. Sometimes they’re just far enough away from the border that people are pretty angry when they show up to their houses, and they’re pretty desperate, and they’ll do very inhumane things because they’re so desperate and tired and fatigued.

So those are very real problems that we are not hearing anything about. We’re not hearing about the fentanyl that’s coming through our country. There’s been enough fentanyl in our country to kill every American four times over.

Del Guidice: That’s tragic stuff. I want to talk about the economy for a minute. You mentioned on Twitter that the Biden administration was talking about how … chips are down 1%, but gas is up 42%. What does that have to say about the state of the Biden administration and what they’re thinking about what Americans find what they need versus actually what’s needed?

Boebert: It shows how out of touch they are with people. I mean, look, saving 16 cents on a meal is fantastic until you start your car and attempt to drive out of your driveway and then guzzle it all up and you’re now almost $4 a gallon tank of gas. So that’s 16 cents, just don’t spend it all in one place. It really just shows how out of touch they are with the American people.

Everything is skyrocketing. Everywhere we look there’s a crisis, whether that’s with our schools, our children being masked, having their education held hostage for political gain, and the critical race theory that we’re seeing, the talk of schools forcing vaccination on our children.

All of this is such an overreach and everywhere you turn you can see a crisis, whether it’s the border, the energy crisis that we are in. I mean, America can be energy-dominant, but we are enriching Russia instead. Biden is siding with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and canceling American pipelines, building Nord Stream 2 pipelines.

Del Guidice: Going back to the border for a second and also COVID, you had talked on Twitter about how the Biden administration cannot send resources to the border, but they can send people to knock on doors to ask about if people have gotten their COVID vaccines. Again, what does this say about the state of priorities with the administration? Where should this be, and why is it there?

Boebert: Right. So, the state of priorities is exactly it, their priorities are all wrong. They’re not going to the southern border and sending finances down there because then they would have to admit that there’s a problem. And I think for them, this isn’t a crisis at the southern border, it’s mission accomplished. And so that’s why we’re not seeing any aid be sent down there.

This is exactly what they want. They want to create chaos here in our country.

People going door to door to ask if you’ve been vaccinated, to encourage you to be vaccinated, to vaccinate you, I mean, this is crazy town. I never would have imagined that we would see this in the United States of America, where the federal government is running campaigns like this or you have governors who are having million-dollar lotteries for those who get vaccinated, or scholarships for those who get vaccinated in all of these unique ways. We don’t see that for insulin.

Del Guidice: That’s a good point. So, I want to talk about your state for a moment, Colorado, the wildfires that are occurring there. I think sometimes folks on the East Coast, sometimes we’re out of touch with what’s happening. Can you bring us up to speed on what’s happening and what you’re doing in that regard?

Boebert: Yes. So, with the wildfires in the West, this is a part of our everyday life. We see it, we smell it, we hack through it. I mean, it’s hard to workout outside, it’s hard to go on a walk, take your kids outside to play because there’s just smoke everywhere.

There are multiple fires in Colorado right now. And unfortunately, these could have been prevented if we had proper forest management. And so, I have legislation to properly manage our forest, and it’s actually a very commonsense, comprehensive piece of legislation that addresses real issues without the taxpayers having to foot the bill for it.

You’ve driven through Colorado. There’s pine that have been killed by the beetle bark and there’s just millions of trees that are dead and standing, and it’s creating a huge tinderbox for these fires and we need to be able to go in and manage that, harvest that timber, and clear out our forest.

We do not have healthy forests right now and it’s devastating all of our land. Now we have mudslides that are an issue and rockslides that are an issue because the ground is not healthy from those fires in the past and it’s just devastating everything around it.

So we can actually go in and harvest that timber, and then the companies that harvest that timber would pay a percentage back to the community. So not only does it not cost anything, but it makes money for communities. And we have healthy forests.

Del Guidice: I want to end with Cuba, talking about the situation there. Black Lives Matter has blamed the United States for what’s going on in Cuba right now, because it doesn’t support the communist regime there. What is your perspective on that?

Boebert: I’m glad that the United States does not support the communist regime, but we’re not doing enough to put a stop to what’s happening. And it’s really sad to see Cubans right now who are risking their lives to stand up to a communist dictatorship, a tyrannical government, and saying, “We demand freedom.” They’re not demanding vaccines, they’re demanding freedom.

And for those who think that government handouts and welfare is enough, look at Cuba. Government crumbs will never be enough to satisfy the human desire for liberty.

They are waving the American flag down there because that is the one universal symbol for liberty and justice for all, from Cuba to Hong Kong. And I hope that more Americans can begin to realize that more. Unfortunately, it’s the Democrats who see that as a symbol of hate or anti-government, and everyone else sees it as freedom.

Del Guidice: Well, in Cuba, as you were alluding to, people aren’t able to get Advil.

Boebert: Right.

Del Guidice: The health care situation is terrible. People are waiting in line.

Boebert: No internet.

Del Guidice: Exactly. What does this say about what communism does to a nation? And for those who are in classrooms in this country and want to give communism a thought, what would your message to them be as well?

Boebert: Don’t. Run. I mean, a communist state, it only enriches the elite. We see that time and time again. It oppresses and suppresses the people. Like I said, they just get government crumbs. Right now in Cuba, you’re limited to five eggs per person a month. I couldn’t even imagine that here in America.

We have, obviously, a welfare system here, but we don’t need a complete government welfare state that everyone is participating in. It’s a safety net for those who need it, it’s not meant to be a career. It’s not meant to be a lifestyle.

I know when I stood in line for bread and government cheese, that wasn’t America’s best for me, and I knew I could do a better job taking care of myself than government could. But the thing is, with communism, you can’t comply your way out of it.

Del Guidice: Well, Congresswoman Boebert, thank you so much for joining us again on The Daily Signal. It’s great to have you with us.

Boebert: Yes. Thanks so much, Rachel. Thank you.

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