Coalition of Republican women take immigration crisis head on with visit to southern border hotspot

FIRST ON FOX: A coalition of Republican women from across the country are joining together to address the growing crisis at the nation’s Southern border amid reports of the ongoing horrors facing migrants, especially women and children, as they attempt to make the perilous journey north to the U.S.

The group, brought together by the Winning For Women Action Fund (WFW AF), the political arm of the conservative women’s advocacy group Winning For Women, and POLARIS National Security, a Republican national security advocacy organization, will be visiting the border region between McAllen, Texas and Reynosa, Mexico on Tuesday to see the crisis first-hand, as well as meet with law enforcement officials and victims of human and drug trafficking. 

The diverse group of women will include WFW founder Annie Dickerson, POLARIS National Security founder and former State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus, Rep. Mayra Flores, R-Texas, and congressional candidates Jen Kiggans, R-Va., Amanda Adkins, R-Kan., April Becker, R-Nev., Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore., Cassy Garcia, R-Texas, and Tiffany Smiley, R-Wash.

Their visit comes as reports continue to surface concerning the horrific treatment of migrants by members of gangs and drug cartels, including the use of migrant children for the purposes of smuggling drugs or for harvesting organs to sell on the black market.

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“Women and children who have been enticed into making the dangerous journey to our country are experiencing untold cruelty and suffering,” Dickerson said in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital ahead of the trip.

“The women on this trip — from all different backgrounds and from all across the country — are linking arms to give these victims a voice and demand accountability,” she added.

The ongoing border crisis, which swelled following the inauguration of President Biden and his ending of a number of Trump administration border policies, has continued to overwhelm border patrol agents and surrounding communities with the massive number of migrants crossing into the U.S. each month.

Nearly 200,000 migrants were encountered at the border in July, a lower amount than the more than 213,000 encountered in July 2021, but a still stubbornly high number as the administration continues its efforts to roll back the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy.

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Biden has faced sharp criticism for his handling of the border crisis, including for not yet finding time to visit the border since taking office in Jan. 2021.

Speaking exclusively with Fox News Digital ahead of the Tuesday trip, Ortagus referred to Biden’s failure to visit the border as a “dereliction of duty,” and argued he hadn’t been because he would be “ashamed” of what he’d see.

“It is unconscionable that he would not go to the border. I think that he is ashamed, and perhaps embarrassed of what he will see, and that’s why he hasn’t been,” she said. “His team wants to pretend that the border isn’t a problem, and if he goes there, he’s going to have to see what we will see next week, which is the horrific human rights abuses.”

“He’s going to have to see the face of the stories of the people that are suffering because of his border policies, the communities of South Texas, where crime has risen, where people don’t feel safe in their homes,” she added.

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Flores also spoke with Fox News Digital ahead of the Tuesday trip, and stressed the importance of government officials actually seeing the border crisis in person and how it’s become a “humanitarian crisis.”

“I want people to come and see the seriousness of this, and that this should not be politicized,” she said. “This is something that we need to all be working together on — to secure the border, to keep immigrants safe, and to focus on legal immigration and why legal immigration is so important.” 

“I just want them to see what we see every day, why border security is so important, and for them to go back to their districts and make people aware throughout the country of what’s going on in South Texas, because it’s really heartbreaking what’s happening,” she added.

The group of women hopes to be part of what analysts expect will be a Republican majority in the House of Representatives following November’s midterm elections, and will likely help drive future legislation to alleviate the pain being felt by the ongoing crisis.

Fox News’ Brooke Singman and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.