President Barack Obama needs to halt the flow of illegal immigrants coming into the United States along the southern border in order to protect the children from the hazards they are encountering in their journey, said Rep. Mike McCaul.
McCaul told Fox News' "Happening Now" that many of the children who are making the trek from Central America unaccompanied by parents are being raped, abused, and killed at the hands of the drug cartels.
"The story that's not being told is the dangerous journey they go through when they go through Mexico, under the hands of the drug cartels and the drug traffickers who abuse, and exploit them, and rape them and, in some cases, kill them before they even get to the United States of America," the Texas Republican said Thursday.
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McCaul, who chairs the House Committee on Homeland Security, said the only way to protect the children would be to "stop the flow" of immigrants coming to the United States, which would send a "message of deterrence."
"We need to send the family units and children back to their countries," he said. "We send a signal that they can't stay here. I know that sounds harsh in some circles, but there is no other way to stop it."
McCaul visited a facility earlier this month in McAllen, Texas, where a group of immigrants was being held. He described the facility as a "refugee camp in the United States." Many of the illegal immigrants are teenage boys, he said.
"About 80 percent, though, of these so-called children are about 16 to 17 years old, most male. That, from a security standpoint, greatly concerns me," he said. "What are they going to be doing in the United States of America with no education? They can't speak English. That's the threat that I think a lot of people are concerned about."
The Obama administration has clamped down on allowing access to facilities where illegal immigrants are being held. Oklahoma Republican
Rep. Jim Bridenstine was denied access to a facility in his state at Fort Sill on July 1.
"Why is it that they don’t want the transparency? This was supposed to be the most transparent presidency in American history, if you remember the campaign rhetoric," Bridenstine told Newsmax TV on July 3.
The Department of Health and Human Services allowed the media to visit the Fort Sill facility Thursday, but restricted cameras and questions. At a hearing Wednesday, Arizona Republican
Sen. John McCain blasted a Border Patrol official over the restrictions for members of Congress, telling him, "I want it fixed, and I want it fixed immediately."
McCaul questioned why Obama did not visit the border while in Texas this week on a fund-raising trip. He said it didn't show "leadership" for the president to say he would get his information from his "underlings."
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