Granger calls situation at Texas-Mexico border a “humanitarian crisis”
The Ripon Advance
By Aaron Martin
Monday, July 7, 2014

Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) said on Wednesday that the situation unfolding at the Mexico-Texas border is a “humanitarian crisis” that must be treated seriously.

House Speaker Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) recently tapped Granger to chair the House working group that has been tasked with exploring the issue and making immediate recommendations.

Granger visited multiple sites in Texas last weekend that were being used to process and shelter families and unaccompanied minors who are awaiting transport to appear before immigration courts.

“The humanitarian crisis at the southern border demands to be treated with the seriousness that it deserves,” Granger said. “Despite the president’s claims, this is not about immigration reform, this is about managing the immediate humanitarian crisis that this country faces at the Texas-Mexico border. This is about making a priority the thousands of children who have made a horrific journey based on false hope that they will be able to stay in the United States.”

Granger said she saw humanitarian efforts carried out by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents, local officials and community non-profit groups that are overwhelmed by the surge of unaccompanied minors and families who appear there daily.

“The House working group that was created by Speaker Boehner has heeded this call to action and is working to provide immediate recommendations to help those on the ground who are facing this crisis every hour of the day,” Granger said. “I will be returning to the Rio Grande Valley on Thursday to continue to meet with officials to hear directly from them on what solutions can be developed to end this crisis.”