US high delegation visits Texas-Mexico border

WASHINGTON

US Vice President JD Vance led a delegation Wednesday that visited the southern border to track efforts to combat illegal crossings and drug trafficking.

"The border crisis has become a matter of national intelligence, and it's also become something that requires the Department of Defense to engage with," Vance told reporters along with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard on the border in Eagle Pass, Texas.

There has been an 85% reduction in the number of people dying at the southern US border, Vance said.

"Every single day that we continue to keep this border safe, that means less migrant crime. That means less fentanyl coming into our communities. That means more safety and security for the people of the United States of America," he added.

Vance warned those who are in the US illegally.

"We don't want to have to go around and arrest every person, but we will enforce the American people's immigration laws. If you're here illegally, the message from our administration is you should go back home, and if you want to come to the United States, apply through the proper channels," he said.

About drug cartels in Mexico, Vance said the US does not want to have "negative relationships" with the Mexican government, adding: "Our hope is that Mexico takes this job seriously.”

"We want the Mexican government to help itself, but also in the process, to help the American people by taking these organizations seriously. It's going to destabilize the entire country of Mexico, the entire government, if they don't take it more seriously.

"We're hopeful that they will, and if they don't, then of course, we'll figure out what to do from there," he added.

"No," he said, when asked whether there is any talk or any thoughts about US military forces going into Mexico.

'98% drop in crossings on southern border'

Hegseth said border security is national security.

"We've seen it in the numbers, a 98% drop in crossings on the southern border. We're not yet at 100% operational control, but we are on our way," he added.

More resources are coming to this border, Hegseth said.

Separately, Gabbard said that over 21 million people have come across the US borders illegally under former Joe Biden's administration.

Trump's designation of cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations is "critical," she added.

"The president's designation of the cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations falls directly into this, especially as we're seeing some of the tactics that these cartels are using reflect some of the tactics that we've seen used by Islamist terrorists in countries that many of us have served in overseas.

"Our mission is very clear. Our objective is to keep the American people safe," Gabbard said.