Alaska News

Murkowski headed to Mexican border for firsthand look at immigration crisis

Alaska U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski will travel to Texas on Thursday for a firsthand look at the crisis of migrant children unfolding on the Mexican border, her office said.

She will travel to the border town of McAllen on Thursday evening to see a local border patrol station, and she will also receive a briefing at Lackland Air Force Base, where some migrants are being held, according to a prepared statement from her office.

She'll be traveling with Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, and other lawmakers, and the trip will run through Friday, said Murkowski's press secretary, Matthew Felling. The group will be accompanied by the commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The federal government is grappling with an influx of 57,000 migrant children from Central America. President Barack Obama has asked Congress for $3.7 billion to help combat the crisis.

"I look forward to finding out firsthand the reality there on the U.S.-Mexico border," Murkowski is quoted as saying in the statement from her office.

Nathaniel Herz

Anchorage-based independent journalist Nathaniel Herz has been a reporter in Alaska for nearly a decade, with stints at the Anchorage Daily News and Alaska Public Media. Read his newsletter, Northern Journal, at natherz.substack.com

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