WV Press Release Sharing
WASHINGTON, DC — During a Senate Republican Leadership Press Conference this week, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., discussed the crisis at the southern border.
During her remarks, Senator Capito highlighted some takeaways from her recent virtual meeting with West Virginia National Guard members that were deployed to the southern border as part of Operation Lone Star.
Click here or on the image below to watch Senator Capito’s remarks.
Full transcript of the remarks (as delivered) are also included below.
TRANSCRIPT (as delivered):
“The Virginia National Guard, at the request of the Governor, joined in with the Texas National Guard at Operation Lone Star along the border along Eagle Pass. Our Guard members that went volunteered to go. And after talking with them, just last week—I did talk with them—over the course of 40 days, they encountered 10,000 illegal immigrants coming across, this is not at the ports of entry. This is aside from the ports of entry. To which one of the Guard members, young man, said the whole experience was shocking at what he saw.
“He saw children that were dehydrated, young babies that were not in good health conditions, crossing with their families, being used as ways to get in. We also- one of the Guard members from West Virginia was a medical professional. She went down and administered medical help at the southern border to the Texas Guard and also the West Virginia Guard and also any of the immigrants that needed it as they were coming in, the illegals, and they had not had health care down there at that portion of the border for the last six months. And she said she worked 24/7, and again, was shocked at what she was seeing.
“This is an utter failure by this administration, the interior border policy strengthening- our enforcement is not there. You’ve heard our- my colleagues talk about it. It is a 50-state problem. I’m proud of our state. I’m proud of our National Guard to go down and assist. But this issue when we get these numbers from August, are going to be shocking as well, not just to our National Guard, but to the rest of the country.”