WASHINGTON _ Texas Republican Rep. Michael Burgess on Thursday said the United States should close the border with Mexico, despite the damage that would cause to Texas' economy, judging the migrant crisis to be more dangerous.
In an interview with The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Burgess defended President Donald Trump's plans to close the border at some point, staking out territory far from Texas Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz who say the move would be catastrophic for the state's economy. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, one of Trump's closest allies, warned that closing the border would "dramatically impact" commerce in "Texas, America and Mexico."
"Closing off the border would be a difficult thing for our state, but our state is faced with a very difficult problem now," said Burgess in his office on Capitol Hill. "It may be the only way to get people's attention, nothing else has worked and the problem is compounding literally every single day."
