News, Culture and NPR for Central & Northern Michigan
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
91.7FM Alpena and WCML-TV Channel 6 Alpena are off the air. Click here to learn more.

U.S. Homeland Security Subcommittee seeks solution for U.S. Mexico Border crisis

Courtesy dhs.gov

The U.S. Homeland Security Subcommittee conducted a hearing Thursday seeking solutions for addressing the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico Border.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection estimates that it will encounter more than two million migrants crossing the southern boarder by the end of the year.

“More than four times the number from fiscal year 2020.”

U.S. Representative Peter Meijer is ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee Subcommittee. He says the current crisis has been accelerated by the Biden administration’s misguided policies. The solution is addressing a complex set of circumstances within the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras where most migrants originate their journey.

“These factors include systemic and entrenched corruption," said Meijer. "Poverty and food insecurity. Violence and a lack of economic opportunity that often precludes them from making a better life for themselves and their families in their home countries.”

Meijer and the subcommittee seek long-term solutions and comprehensive immigration reform. While the Biden Administration is committing $300 million to Northern Triangle countries and is proposing a $400 billion aid package addressing regional instability, the Grand Rapids Republican says any assistance must be “targeted, monitored and transparent” ensuring “maximum impact.”