EAGLE PASS, Texas — U.S. Representative Tony Gonzales (R-TX) made an unannounced visit to the small border city of Eagle Pass on Thursday. The Texas Republican toured the Border Patrol staging site along the Rio Grande ss migrants continued to cross into Eagle Pass in record numbers. Gonzales spoke to Breitbart Texas and discussed his possible involvement in a potential Elon Musk visit to the border.
Elon Musk, tech-billionaire and owner of X (formerly Twitter) has indicated he plans to visit the border to see first-hand the latest migrant surge at the border this week. In an early morning X post on Tuesday, responding to a video posting showing thousands of migrants on a freight train in Mexico, Musk wrote, “I spoke with Rep Tony Gonzales tonight, he confirmed that it is a serious issue. They are being overwhelmed by unprecedented numbers, just hit an all-time high and still growing! Am going to visit Eagle Pass later this week to see what’s going on for myself.”
I spoke with Rep Tony Gonzales tonight – he confirmed that it is a serious issue.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 26, 2023
They are being overwhelmed by unprecedented numbers – just hit an all-time high and still growing!
Am going to visit Eagle Pass later this week to see what’s going on for myself.
Thus far, no official notice regarding Musk’s potential visit has been given. As migrants began crossing the Rio Grande into the United States, Representative Gonzales was asked about his latest visit to the border and what relief he might be able to bring to his constituents dealing with the worst migrant crisis on record in the small border town of Eagle Pass.
Gonzales told Breitbart Texas he plans to hold a bilateral meeting on Thursday in Mexico with officials from both sides of the border. On the agenda, Gonzales says is reiterating the negative impact to commerce and trade the migrant surge is having and seeking solutions to the issue. “Yesterday, I was in Washington DC and had breakfast with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken because this has a diplomatic piece to this, working with Mexico to get them to fulfill their agreements. If they are not, what are we going to do about that? It’s evident to me that there is a void there,” Gonzales says.
Gonzales intends to address the impact the crisis is having on the United States side not only as it relates to the thousands of migrants choosing to enter the United States illegally but as it relates to the current shut down of one of two international ports of entry in Eagle Pass. “If you’re in the trade business, nobody wants to see that bridge shut down, if you’re in the trade business, you don’t want that railway bridge shut down from a commerce standpoint,” he emphasized. Having little confidence in the administration’s ability to handle the crisis impacting both sides of the border, Gonzales told Breitbart Texas he’s ready to try something different.
By midday on Thursday as Breitbart Texas posted at the Rio Grande, more than two hundred migrants had made landfall in the United States. Gonzales says his constituents need a break from the migrant surge to catch their breath. Gonzales says he is willing to explore bilateral solutions locally as the budget process moves forward in Washington DC and other remedies are explored.
On the question of what update he could provide regarding the potential border visit by Elon Musk, Gonzales laughingly told Breitbart Texas “Can’t say anything, stay tuned!
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.
