DALLAS — It is considered some of the most treacherous terrain in the world, including a mountainous rain forest and elevation that changes by nearly 6,000 feet.
But that hasn’t stopped hundreds of thousands of migrants from crossing the Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama in an attempt to reach the United States.
And those numbers are rising.
So, the U.S. is working with Panama and Colombia to stem the flow of migrants.
North Texas Congressman Keith Self thinks our country could do even more to seal off the Darién Gap.
The Republican says American boots on the ground there would make a difference.
But…
“That’s a tremendous policy decision that would have to be made at the highest levels of the United States government. Make no mistake about it, that is a major policy change,” the Republican lawmaker told us on Inside Texas Politics. “Would I like to see it? I think we need to at least consider it with the agreement of the Panamanian government.”
Self also told us, when it comes to negotiations over the budget, his only goal remains to cut spending.
And he says a group of Republicans have already told leadership they won’t vote for the budget bills in their current forms because they add up to too much spending. And they want the budget to revert back to Fiscal Year 2022 levels.
But so far, consensus has been hard to find, even within the GOP itself.
“Unless the Republican leadership is going to make a permanent coalition with Democrat votes, which I don’t think they’re going to get, they are going to have to find a way to get to 218 Republican votes. That’s the issue,” said Self.