EL PASO, Texas (NewsNation) — Former Vice President Mike Pence toured the southern border in El Paso, Texas, on Tuesday, aiming to keep the spotlight on the migrant crisis that he says affects all 50 states.

Pence held a roundtable with law enforcement officials, including former Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott, who served under Pence and former President Donald Trump. He also met with Thaddeus Cleveland, a former Border Patrol agent who is now the current sheriff of Terrell County, Texas.

“I’m here as a deeply concerned American who lives in the heartland and knows that the crisis at our southern border does not just affect the states in the South. It affects all 50 states in this country,” Pence told NewsNation.

He cited the fentanyl crisis, saying a Texas sheriff told him the county saw a 1,400% increase in fentanyl deaths last year.

While overlooking the border in New Mexico, smugglers were visible on a ridge — an uncommon sight during political visits to the area typically avoided due to dangers.

Pence said the media has shifted focus away from the border, which he called a “national security issue.” His visit comes ahead of a Senate vote this week on a bipartisan border bill that is expected to fail.

During Trump’s presidency, about 2.5 million migrants were expelled under the Title 42 public health order. Since 2021, under President Joe Biden, around 2 million have entered the U.S. each year.

Pence, who hasn’t endorsed Trump’s 2024 bid amid tensions over the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, said securing the border would be Trump’s “No. 1 priority” if he wins a second term.

The former vice president helped negotiate the “remain in Mexico” policy for asylum-seekers, saying, “That’s what negotiating is” despite Mexican opposition.

Pence believes Congress prefers having an immigration issue rather than solving it, urging lawmakers to “get to work on it.”