Sen Marshall: Cartels now make more from human trafficking than drug-running

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - He calls it a national security, humanitarian, and healthcare crisis. Senator Marshall clearly wanted to convey to Kansans how serious he feels the situation currently is at the U.S.-Mexico border. His comments came on a conference call with reporters Tuesday.

He began by saying that cartels are now making more money on human trafficking than they do moving illegal drugs. Marshall claims that cartels are charging Central American families anywhere from $3,000-$9,000 to get people into the U.S. Senator Marshall said that border patrol is expecting record numbers of “parentless children”--a major concern because often those children are sexually abused or sold into slavery.

Marshall blamed President Biden’s reversal of Trump administration policies which include the ‘Remain in Mexico policy’ and border wall construction.

“If you saw any of the pictures that I sent, you could see where the wall had been stopped--that the gates had not been put in yet,” Marshall told reporters. “Even reports that the government is paying 40,000 dollars a day to not do anything.”

He said despite the Department of Homeland Security’s best efforts, there is a serious lack of immigration enforcement because they are overwhelmed.

“The 30-mile stretch that I saw approximately 6,000 people [daily] are crossing the border illegally,” Sen. Roger Marshall said. “We’re catching about a third of them, and that just simply the Border Patrol, DHS, are overwhelmed with the situation once again.”

Meanwhile, the Biden administration’s head of Homeland Security is defending the continuation of a Trump policy that quickly expels single adults and families under a public health order due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, minors are held in temporary shelters until they can be placed with relatives or sponsors in the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas calls the situation at the border “difficult”.

Senator Marshall does agree that COVID is a major concern. He says Border Patrol estimates anywhere from 5-25% of those illegally crossing the border are COVID positive. The physician from Great Bend worries the immigrants could introduce new strains of COVID-19 into the U.S.