EAGLE PASS, Texas – Congressman Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., joined Congressmen Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, Jim Banks, R-Ind., and other house colleagues on a congressional delegation to America’s southern border on Thursday.

The delegation heard from local law enforcement and Border Patrol leadership in Eagle Pass, Texas, about their needs at the southern border and inspected the Eagle Pass DHS detention facility.

Following a meeting with Eagle Pass law enforcement, Armstrong spoke to members of the press about what is needed to secure the border.

“When we are talking to local law enforcement and local city officials, it becomes very clear that we have a broken immigration system,” Armstrong said. “These are communities built on immigration. These aren’t partisan issues down here. They are community issues and public safety issues. Because of the federal government’s failure to act, we are asking more of our local law enforcement agencies. That is taking away from citizens in these communities. It is taking away from deputies and their families and what they do.

“We have to do a better job of providing resources to the communities, law enforcement agents, and the people who are dealing with this emergency. We have to do a much better job of talking about this issue and how it affects everybody who lives in border towns and everybody who lives across the country,” Armstrong said.