Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar said Monday he agrees that immigrants who are wanting to come into the country should do it on the other side of the Mexican border and that work must be done with Mexico and Central America so that the U.S. does not need to play "defense on the one-yard line."
"I don't visit (the border); I literally live on the border," said the Texas lawmaker during an appearance on Fox Business' "Mornings With Maria" along with Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas."I don't care if it's Democratic or Republican, we have to get together to find a solution."
Instead of facing the crisis at the border, said Cuellar, "let's play defense on their 20-yard line, which is the southern part of Mexico with Guatemala."
Another part of the problem is where judges are being assigned, said Cuellar, noting that he helped add more than 350 judges over the past three or four years, only to have them be put in places like New York City, rather than the border.
"What we ought to do put them at the border," said Cuellar, so the immigrants can have their day in court and immediately be deported.
"If you don't start doing that, you are not going to take the incentives away," said Cuellar.
Williams, however, said he thinks it will be difficult to reach an agreement on the border, as "this thing has gone purely political."
However, Williams said the issue is with congressional leaders, not rank and file members like himself and Cuellar who are willing to talk about solutions.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.