WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today delivered remarks at the weekly Republican Senate Leadership press conference slamming the Biden administration for the wide-open southern border that is being exploited by potential terrorists.
“In October, I took a trip to the southern border in McAllen, Texas, down at the Ursula processing center, and I was told by border patrol agents that there were three Syrian men have been apprehended the night before. They were there to Ursula processing center. I asked to see them. Then I asked the question, ‘How did they get here?’ Well, most likely, they flew from the Middle East, to somewhere in South America, and then came up through Central America through Mexico to our southern border.
“In December, I visited with leaders from the country of Colombia. They told me about a daily Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Bogotá. Go on Kayak yourself. Do a quick search. You can get a flight for $1,000 from Istanbul to Bogotá. They’ve been tracking these flights and found that some of the passengers arrived in Bogotá are on the terror watch list. This is one way they’re coming into our country – into South American and up through Central America up to Mexico.
“Where are many of those passengers headed? They’re headed towards southern border; they’re headed into our country. I met with their…Vice Minister of Defense of Colombia. He’s deeply concerned that terrorists from the Middle East and Africa are using Colombia as a stop along their way to our southern border.
“If leaders in Columbia, leaders across the world, are concerned about our wide-open southern border, why aren’t Joe Biden and Senate Democrats sharing that same concern? Under President Trump we had policies that discourage, disincentivize people from coming across the southern border. President Biden and Senate Democrats have done nothing to fix this. They’re complicit. They’ve only made it worse. It is time to make these policy changes. It’s urgent. The time is now.”
Press release provided by Senator Steve Daines
