Following the recent deaths of two migrant children in the custody of federal immigration agencies, U.S. Rep.-elect Xochitl Torres Small went on national television on Thursday to discuss the situation, giving a preview of how she’ll approach border and immigration issues when she takes office next week.
Most notably, Torres Small, a Democrat who will represent New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District, pledged on CNN to work with anyone to solve border and immigration issues — including U.S. President Donald Trump.
Asked what she would say to the president if she had the chance, Torres Small said, “I’d say that we have to work together to address this issue. If we want to talk about border security, let’s make sure we have an agency that’s ready to adapt to changing circumstances, that’s ready to enforce our laws and reflect our values — and we can work together to do that.”
Torres Small said the United States needs more adaptable border and immigration enforcement agencies, “So we have to prioritize, of course, medical equipment as well as personnel, appropriate facilities for these families who are being detained, because that’s important to save children’s lives, to make sure that detainees are safe and healthy.”
She added that it “also affects the working conditions of our agents.”
“So all of our safety depends on having these appropriate facilities,” Torres Small said.
She invited U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to her district to evaluate the situation “so that we can work together to fix what we can control.”
Asked if she agreed with Nielsen that there is a flood of people crossing the border caused by bad judicial rulings and inaction by Congress, Torres Small didn’t answer the question. “I’m a lot more interested in finding solutions than I am about pointing fingers, and I think we all have a responsibility to work together to address this,” Torres Small said.
Asked about Trump’s insistence on building a wall along the border, Torres Small said, “We already have wall sections across many parts of our border, places where it makes sense. But there are other places in remote areas and rural parts of the border, like the areas that I represent, where a wall and the limited amount of effect that that would have isn’t as important as having the right personnel, as having the right technology to make sure that we’re keeping all of us safe.”
You can watch the full interview here:
“We have people who are using the border for political talking points instead of to solve real problems,” says Rep.-elect Xochitl Torres Small, who is set to represent the district where two children have died in Border Patrol custody in less than a month. https://t.co/2KuABsMA2V pic.twitter.com/GK71DDQnRC
— New Day (@NewDay) December 27, 2018