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| Reuters |
The Democratic Border Security Task Force, composed of 26 representatives, will be dedicated to promoting laws that counter drug trafficking and address the influx of irregular migration at the southern border, as stated in a press conference.
"This crisis is unsustainable and Democrats need a forum to address border security policy, while the Republican Party continues to play partisan politics with the issue," said Cuellar.
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The Democrat, who represents a region in southern Texas, emphasized that the border crisis "demands solutions today."
The group is advocating for bipartisan border security legislation that was introduced last February in the Senate, but died after Republicans opposed the project that mixed aid to Ukraine and Israel with the border issue, a thorny matter in an election year.
During a recent visit to the border, President Joe Biden encouraged Republicans and his most likely rival in the November elections, former President Donald Trump (2017-2021), to support the project proposing changes to the asylum system.
Cuellar considered it regrettable that the bill was nullified before the congressmen even had the opportunity to debate its content.
The Democratic congressman hopes that with the task force, they will find "sensible solutions that secure the border while at the same time respecting the rights of migrants to apply for asylum."
"For a long time, Republicans have had a narrative that the border is a dangerous and out-of-control place. And I think it's important that Democrats also have a narrative about border security," he added.
Migration across the border with Mexico, which has reached a record figure in the last year, has become a central campaign issue for both Biden and Trump, who is already positioning himself as the favorite for his party's nomination.