For Immediate Release

January 6, 2024

Contact:  [email protected] or 217-774-1306

Halbrook Tours Wide-Open Southern Border

“The people we spoke with said the U.S. government is the biggest human trafficker in the world”   - State Representative Brad Halbrook

Shelbyville, Illinois - Yesterday State Representative Brad Halbrook toured the southern border of the United States at Eagle Pass, Texas. The tour included stops at Bridge 2, a well-known migrant crossing site, Eagle Pass Border Patrol Station, and a 400-acre private farm along the border that has been a major crossing point and is now controlled by the federal government.  Halbrook also was able to see part of a migrant processing site controlled by the non-governmental organization, Mission Border Hope.

Rep. Halbrook saw firsthand unsecured border crossings, heard from private landowners affected by illegal immigrants on their land, and gained better understanding about what needs to be done to secure our border and the country.  

“I’m stunned by how easy it is for migrants to enter the U.S. and I saw firsthand the U.S. government actively helping them enter the country illegally. The people we spoke with said the U.S. government is the biggest human trafficker in the world. This is an invasion and nobody is stopping it, instead they are making money off of it. 

We visited farmers whose land is along the Rio Grand River. At least five federal and state public safety groups now control their land, allowing migrants to cross the Rio Grand. Migrants are loaded onto buses from their private land to other processing points. There are piles of clothes and personal belongings strewn across their property. The owners have found 57 dead bodies on their land, migrants in their barns. and have had them approach their home looking for food and water. 

Illegal immigrants are treated as a commodity by both NGOs and the cartels. We were told bus contractors make $5,000 per person to ship migrants to Chicago. Those migrants are enticed up here because Illinois is a sanctuary state. Many will be enslaved to pay back the cartels for their passage. It is appalling that our politicians are allowing this to continue and that our taxpayers are paying for this complete lawlessness. The situation is out of control. If everyone heard the stories we heard, they would have a much better perspective on the open border crisis.

I call on every citizen to speak up about this to every elected official down to the school board level and demand to know how much this is costing and what they are doing to close the border and cutoff the incentives to come here.”

State Representative Halbrook plans on hosting a town hall soon and sharing video and photos from his trip. Please sign up for his newsletter to receive more information about his town halls and weekly updates on important happenings and news from around the state. 

Sign-up at Email Updates - Brad Halbrook (rephalbrook.com)

State Representative Halbrook represents the 107^th District. 

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