U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn will lead a senate delegation to the Rio Grande Valley next week to tour the U.S.-Mexico border.
According to Cruz’s office, the delegation is coming in response to “the immigration crisis at the southern border” and the visit will include a roundtable with local stakeholders.
The delegation is scheduled to visit next Friday, March 26, and a full member list has not yet been announced.
Immigration in the Valley has attracted national attention and other high profile visits to the border in the past month.
Cornyn and U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar visited a temporary youth shelter in Carrizo Springs on Friday to address the immigration situation on the border.
Nearly 30,000 children were under federal custody so far this fiscal year, a rate greater than any seen in over a decade. A large portion of those currently detailed are in the Rio Grande Valley.
As of last week, of 200 children taken into custody daily only about 20 — or 10% — were taken from Border Patrol in the Valley into ORR facilities.
Private and public sector leaders have cited resources and funding as a chief concern in addressing the uptick in immigration.
Cruz and Cornyn will not be the only high-profile Republicans in South Texas next week.
Gov. Greg Abbott is slated to headline the Hidalgo County Republican Party’s Lincoln-Reagan Dinner in McAllen the evening before the delegation’s visit.
Texas Justice Eva Guzman and Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush are also listed as keynote speakers for that event.
