Most Democrats have been downplaying the ongoing crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border now that Joe Biden is president and his open border policies have contributed to the surge, but among the few who are calling like it is are the ones who live right at the border.
Val Verde County Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez told "Fox & Friends" on Thursday the residents in his community are getting increasingly worried about the large number of people who are illegally crossing in their part of Texas.
"Secondly, tell us about the people of your county and your community. Are they happy about this? Are they okay with it? Or are they surprised that it’s happening in such vast numbers?" host Steve Doocy asked.
"So, the answer is they are not all being sent back. The only ones that are really being sent back are the Mexicans, the people from the countries I mentioned, they’re all being processed and sent on to wherever their destination is going to go," Martinez said.
"Now the citizens of my community, they’re concerned. They are afraid. I had a meeting with them almost two weeks ago, near the location where all these immigrants are coming across. Now, they are concerned. They want to know what is their right to defend themselves and stuff. So, you know, I just try to ease their calm because a lot of these people they are basically family units, and they have been peaceful to this point," Martinez added.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Martinez said the surge in illegal foot traffic is partially Biden's fault.
"They just wiped out the old policy under the Trump administration and when they took over, the Biden administration didn't have a plan to put their new policy in place," he explained. "These people who are coming across are telling us the Biden administration was going to be more lax than the previous one, and that's why they are crossing. That's why they are coming and it's only going to get worse."
In contrast, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) took to Instagram to claim people using the term "surge" and "invasion" are trying to provoke a military response, and that adding such terms are white supremacist in nature.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member