Senators on Border Patrol Tour Witness Woman Jump the Border
Several senators were in Arizona Wednesday to review border patrol operations when they witnessed a woman climbing the fence and being taken into custody by border patrol agents firsthand.
While the group toured a portion of the border fence located in the town of Nogales, Ariz., they witnessed a woman scale the 18-foot fence to enter the U.S., who then was apprehended by waiting border patrol agents.
The group of senators, who are also leading talks regarding immigration, included Republicans John McCain and Jeff Flake of Arizona and Democrats Chuck Schumer of New York and Michael Bennet of Colorado.
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A draft of the new immigration bill is rumored to be introduced when Congress reconvenes in about two weeks as politicians tackle providing a pathway to citizenship for the country's 11 million undocumented residents.
"You can read and you can study and you can talk but until you see things it doesn't become reality," Schumer told reporters during his first tour of border patrol operations.
"I'll be able to explain this to my colleagues. Many of my colleagues say, `Why do we need to do anything more on the border?' and we do. We should do more," he added.
One of the major talking points of the discussions has been how to better secure the nation's borders and the group of senators witnessed firsthand what the consequences of inaction are.
"In so many ways, whatever your views are on immigration, Arizona is ground zero," Schumer said. "What I learned today is we have adequate manpower, but not adequate technology."
McCain took to Twitter to express is concern going forward with the immigration debate.
"Just witnessed a woman successfully climb an 18-ft bollard fence a few yards from us in #Nogales," McCain wrote.
"Border Patrol successfully apprehended her, but incident is another reminder that threats to our border security are real," he added.
