Republican Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw appeared live from the U.S. southern border to discuss border security with Fox News host Sean Hannity.
Reporting on Thursday night from a Rio Grande Valley section of the border, Crenshaw explained the difference in results between border measures taken near Brownsville, Texas, and nearby McAllen.
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“Here’s the big takeaway here,” said Crenshaw. “So, the Rio Grande valley is actually responsible for about 40 percent of total illegal immigration in the entire country. So, it’s a huge spot for this.”
Crenshaw explained how the area is “divided up into two spots,” Brownsville and McAllen, before delving into the difference between the two.
The Brownsville area has about 35 miles of pretty secure fencing. It’s border security the way that we would like to see it. It’s a good mix of technology and secure fencing. In the McAllen area you have exactly the opposite. You have wide open areas. Now, so what do we see? We see about six percent of illegal apprehensions occur in Brownsville, and 94 percent occur in McAllen. So, do walls work? The answer is very clearly yes. That’s exactly what we’re seeing. And as we’re driving over here. You can see Mexico right behind me. As we’re driving over here we’re seeing groups of migrants being caught as they’re crossing the border. And a lot of these have kids with them, which means they will simply be let go into the U.S. population.
The segment also included former DEA special agent Derek Maltz, who discussed illegal drugs being brought over.
Crenshaw lamented the politics behind the impasse between Democrats and Republicans by noting that the plan “isn’t even the president’s.” (RELATED: Dan Crenshaw Lays Out Border Plan, Calls For Common Sense, And A Wall)
“This plan has been on the books for years,” he said. “It has come from border agents on the ground. It comes from experts at the Department of Homeland Security. It is walls where it makes sense. This is the places that our men and women that are on the front lines have been asking for. This shouldn’t even be a partisan issue.”