DALLAS, TX – Rep. Van Duyne (TX-24) and Rep. Van Taylor (TX-03) today visited the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center where 1600 undocumented immigrant teenagers ages 13-17 are being housed after illegally crossing the United States Southern Border.

“What I witnessed today was heartbreaking,” said Rep. Van Duyne. “We cannot be surprised that after Biden campaigned on open borders, we are experiencing the worst border crossing surge in over 20 years. Many have tried to point fingers at the policies of the previous Administration claiming humanitarian concerns and yet Biden’s dangerous rhetoric and reckless neglect of our nation’s laws has created a very real crisis by directly motivating thousands of these young children to cross the border.”

“This created crisis is fueling a multi-billion-dollar industry with coyotes and cartels,” she continued. “One representative at the facility stated, ‘Smuggling used to be a mom-and-pop business. Now it’s Coca-Cola.’ The Biden Administration failed to recognize there would be consequences of his disastrous actions and failed to make any sort of plan. The facility today was made in just 3.5 days. Health and Human Services (HHS), the Red Cross, and FEMA are doing a fantastic job providing the best care possible for these kids under the circumstances, but we have no plan to appropriately care for them long-term. What these kids have gone through is unconscionable and it is irresponsible for President Biden to continue to ignore the border crisis he created.”

The center is currently housing 1,600 immigrant teenagers but has the capacity to sleep up to 2,300. As teenagers are reconnected with their families, they have no way of knowing how many thousands of immigrant teens will cycle through the facility during this crisis. There are more children crossing the border and more children in custody today than any other time in U.S. history, and many of the teens at the convention center have already been in custody for a week. This is an unprecedented surge and is the result of the Biden Administration’s campaign rhetoric and weak border policies.

Most of the teens being housed at the convention center immigrated from Guatemala, Honduras, or El Salvador, and cited their most common reason for crossing the border was fleeing violence or forced gang recruitment. While females are not being housed at the convention center at this time, it was acknowledged that many females are crossing the border to avoid being forced into sex trafficking or smuggling. Officials at the convention center noted that the border surge is being fueled by a multi-billion dollar smuggling industry.

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