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Leaders won’t address ‘broken immigration’: Rio Grande Mayor

Migrants package their belongings as they wait to be processed after crossing the Rio Grande into the U.S. on May 3, 2022 in La Joya, Texas. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's "Lone Star Operation" directed approximately 10,000 members of the national guard to assist law enforcement with patrol and border apprehensions. Towns along the southern border continue making preparations as Title 42 is scheduled to end on May 23rd. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

(NewsNation) — Joel Villarreal, the mayor of Rio Grande City, Texas, says we’ll continue to have a broken immigration system until political leaders step it up.

“We’ve seen this before. And we’re going to continue to see it because, unfortunately, our leaders in Washington have refused to address our broken immigration system,” Mayor Joel Villarreal said during an appearance Friday afternoon on NewsNation’s “Rush Hour.”


Villarreal said we’ll continue to see influxes of immigrants regardless of which political party has been empowered.

“Fortunately for the Rio Grande Valley sector, we’re in a good position. However, it’s one of those situations where it can turn on a dime. It’s something that we must continually address. The solution, though, for our broken immigration system, is in D.C., and unfortunately, we have not addressed it,” Villarreal said.