Lawmakers debate as border crime rise sparks national concern, urgent calls for action

WASHINGTON (TND) — Lawmakers spoke about the crisis at the U.S. southern border as the nation continues to see an increase in migrant crimes, sparking a national debate.

“The president announced two weeks ago, and I was a part of that support for changes in the law that he could do through his executive procedure to try to provide greater restrictions and protection at the border but it's not enough. Clearly, we need to have Congress step up to the plate in a bipartisan action,” Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., said.

New government data shows that the number of migrants with criminal records crossing the border has spiked in the previous three years.

Over 13,000 illegal migrants have attempted to enter the U.S. and been apprehended by Border Patrol agents in Fiscal Year 2024.

“The government's current vetting process is so broke, it's sad.” Rep. Weber, R-Texas, said. “There's going to be more and more death, unfortunately. More and more criminal acts, unfortunately, and the FBI, I've been told, has been putting out some statistics about everybody should be aware that we might have terrorists in our country. The open border is a travesty.”

The alarming data comes as a 12-year-old Houston girl was allegedly murdered by 2 Venezuelan migrants.

Jocelyn Nungaray was found strangled to death in a Texas creek and is laid to rest Thursday.