south texas continues to lead the country in apprehensions, as well as marijuana seeds yeizure between the ports of entry. committed to both our border security mission as well as our humanitarian mission. mr. president, senators, we couldn't do it without your support. really appreciate you coming down here. means an awful lot to the men and women of the border patrol, our local law enforcement community, thank you. >> thank you very smumuch. >> so they apprehended people from the middle east and do it all the time. everybody says, where are they from? we're not talking about only mexico. all over the world they come in because it's a weak spot. they make it storong, but the laws have to be strong and we need security. we need the kind of backup that you want. and they've asked, by the way, we have lists of things, what they need more than anything is the barrier. the wall. call it whatever you want, whether it's steel or concrete, you don't care. we need a barrier. and they have done a fantastic job. never so many apprehensions ever in our history, but, you know, it could be a lot ea

took his pitch fl -- right to the border in south texas today. this wall is the sticking point in this >>> president trump took his pitch for a border wall to the border in south texas. the wall remains the sticking point in this ongoing government shutdown. it is now day 20 of the shut down. with no end in sight. >> jay gray is along the border with a closer look at the visit and the political fall out. and this political fight that doesn't seem to have an end. >> no, it doesn't. good to talk to you this evening. we're along part of the border that does have a barrier. you see it here. it gives way after a few feet to a normal chain link fence. the president said today that ultimately there will be a barrier a wall something that will span most if not all of the border between the u.s. and mexico. he's determined saying in congress will pay for it or he will issue a national emergency. >> reporter: president trump on the ground in south texas. the outer edge of the country. the the center of a growing droefrs controversy in government shutdown.

president trump flew to south texas yesterday to push for border wall funding.ources say he is laying the groundwork to declare a national emergency. about 800,000 federal workers stand to miss paychecks today. major garrett reports from hidalgo, texas. >>> we need a barrier. >> reporter: president trump surveyed the u.s.-mexico border near mcallen and the people who protect it. part of his ongoing campaign to portray the border as overrun by migrants, drugs, and human trafficking. >> so we're going to get this straightened out hopefully. hopefully the democrats are going to come to their senses. >> reporter: before leaving for texas, the president, frustrated by democratic opposition to wall funding, said he is seriously considering declaring a national emergency and seizing unspent pentagon construction funds. >> i have the absolute right to declare a national emergency. the lawyers have so advised me. i'm not prepared to do that yet. but if i have to, i will. >> reporter: presidents have declared national emergencies nearly 60 times since 1976. president bush

we have seen a change of the last couple of weeks with 50 percent of what we make here in south texas. it continues to believe in between those ports of entry as well as the humanitarian mission we could not do it without your support. thank you to the men and women for border patrol and local law enforcement. >> they apprehended people from the middle east and they do that all the time. not just mexico but all over the world. the law has to be strong and we need security and the backup that you want. we have a list of things what they need more than anything whether steel or concrete we don't care they have done a fantastic job. but it could be a lot easier in a lot of different areas which is also very helpful. >> we need to finish that job. and then in order to control the border and manage it then that accounts for 6 percent of traffic and the traffic that occurs in those areas. and i never told you to say that. [laughter] and then it is hard work in grueling. . >> well we can declare a national emergency but we shouldn't have to. this is common sense. and that this should be happ

t 50 miles north of the border, i have seen the unmarked graves of the migrants trying to cross south texas in order to bypass the border patrol checkpoint but then who were left to die by the smugglers. their graves were marked only with identities like unknown female. border security is not immoral mr. president as the speaker pelosi has claimed. but refusing to act in the face of evil is immoral. it's clear there is a crisis and it is our responsibility to restore safety and security and order. in my wildest dreams i never would have imagined we would be debating if we should secure our borders as we apparently are n now. that's something we should agree on andw instead we should be focused on how to secure our borders and how to do it in a smart and m responsible way. in my experience, learning from the experts they tell me that it isti no one-size-fits-all solution. you can imagine and a 1200-mile border with texas and mexico and with the variety of topography and geography that one-size-fits-all does not work. what works best in the valley doesn't work in the urban environment like el

north of the border, icing unmarked graves of the migrants were trying to cross vast swaths of south texas in the august heat in order to bypass the border patrol checkpoint but then you're left to die why the smugglers. the graves unmarked only with attendees like school case or unknown female. border security is not immoral, mr. president, as speakerpe peli has shamelessly clean. but refusing to act in the face of evil is immoral. it's clear there's a crisis as it is clear it's our responsibility to restore safety and security and order. in my wildest dreams i never would have imagined we would be debating if we should secure our borders as we apparently are now. that something we should all agree on. instead, we should be focused on how to secure our borders and how to do in a smart, responsible way. in my experience and learn from the experts, they tell me it's no one size fits all solution. you can imagine in a 1200-mile border with just texas and mexico with a variety of topography and geography, that one size fits all does not work. what works best in the rio grande valley doesn't n

south texas is a big place in mcallen. >> yes, it is.border? >> i hope he sees we are in dire need. and the country is able to see we are in dire need of security, of border security. we definitely need that wall. we definitely need something to keep people out undesirables that don't need to be here. and that come in our country with the wrong reasons. and we want immigrants, of course, but we want them to come through and come in legally. pete: why are chuck and nannies saying that it would be ineffective or even immoral, nancy pelosi claims the wall? >> you know, the only - only-une most people i have heard on the news, i think they are doing that because they can and they are trying to make president trump look bad. i honestly think that's what it is. i think this country has such a bitter taste in its mouth because trump was elected still a lot of people feel that way which i think was crazy. i have wasn't crazy about obama but i supported him. he was my president. i stood up and said yeah he is my president i'm proud to say that i

south texas continues to lead in apprehension. mr. president, senators, we could not do it without you. we appreciate you coming down here. thank you. they apprehended people from the middle east and they do it all the time. we are not talking only mexico. all of the world, they come. and they havety what they need more than anything come of the wall, concrete, you don't care. we need a barrier. it could be a lot easier and you could spread your people out to different areas which would be helpful. >> we started a job in 2006. we need to finish that job and we need the resources. inneed that infrastructure order to control this porter and manage it. part of this is covered on the 60% side and accounts for of the traffic. over 90% occurs in those areas. anymoreon't have to say . sense, they need a barrier, they need a wall. if not, it is going to be hard work and grueling problems and death. a lot of just. death.t of >> thank you. >> thank you. >> how close are you at declaring a national emergency? , but we shouldn't have to. this sho

over half the families that cross over the border cross here in south texas. our law officers are caring for children and families. so i wanted to say i'm proud of the agents, officers and professionals serving down here, staying focused on the mission, despite the challenging environment at this time. i'm proud of the briefing. what they do every day to protect our country and our citizens. the resources the administration is asking for are targeted at all three elements of the crisis. the border barrier, technology, agencies and officers we need to address the security threats. we're building new barrier as the lieutenant governor noted starting in february right here. thank you. also the technology at the ports of entry to stop the drugs. that's a critical element. very importantly, you asked for humanitarian resources. we can provide different facilities medical support to get our agents out of the childcare business and protect families crossing and end the violent cycle. it's controlled by violent criminals in mexico primarily, transnational organization

in the south texas city of mccalen some people disagree. feels that the wall is not the answer to the country's immigration problem. he says the real crisis is not happening here. >> the crisis is really over for them when they hit the border and they can seek asylum. the crisis for them in their home country -- >> reporter: since 2014 mcallen has become the epicenter of the border debate where tens of thousands of undocumented families are released with future immigration court dates. after they are released illegal asylum seekers make their way into the humanitarian respite center. >> the kricrisis is a crisis th we create when we don't have safe passage. >> how are you? >> reporter: as an opponent, she is among the majority in this predominantly democratic region of a red state. upriver from mcallen they support building the wall and letting it cut through his ranch. >> in my opinion, nothing has changed other than him and i'm talking about the president, not being able to find a way to get it done. >> reporter: a trump supporter, it's a

because i have so much money but these are high-tech jobs and the nuclear power plant called the south texas project since 1979 working there from the get-go a local county judge from local colleges how do you obtain a workforce? going to local colleges and we should embrace that because that makes that worker better and more viable and more efficient to drive down the cost also price waterhouse cooper about one month ago ai will add north of $17 trillion in ten years. there is only one more than that that is more than china gdp in ten years embrace the change don't be afraid. >> that they have to start young because we have community colleges that they work with the company to get the job skills but just to get people into that mindset that yes you can do thi this. >> it is related to ai but since we are talking about it , we have a major issue in this country with exploding cost of education so how do you see those shifts affecting that trend? . >> that is an issue for sure. but with the caucus john delaney has been replaced from california and guess who joined the caucus today? [applause]

. >> sean: south sector. >> we run 277 miles down here in south texas and about 315 miles up thewas watching and listening as you were talking with the president and it meant a lot to you and the rest of these guys here today that the president took the time to come down here. you know, we can pan and look right across there, i can walk across that rio grande straight into mexico, correct? >> yes, sir. >> sean: how long would it take me. >> take you about 15, 20 seconds. >> sean: right? >> yes, sir. >> sean: this is wide open. >> yes, sir. >> sean: in huma, the sector they went from 5 miles to 64 and it decreased illegal crossings by 95, 96%? >> yes, sir. >> sean: would that happen here. >> most definitely, we have 55 miles of fencing on our sector. east side. counts for 6% of my traffic. west side where i have very little fencing and technology counts for 94% of my traffic. we need to finish the job. i have got 35 gates that are wide open. we have started construction on those gates. this is a first president to come down here since i have been down here in five years. i came do

>> reporter: in the south texas stiff mcallen, most people we ever talked to disagree with the presidentt his proposed border barrier. ahead of trump's arrival, the mayor feels like most do in this democratic strong hold, that the wall is not the answer to the country's immigration problem. he also says the real crisis is not happening here. >> the crisis is really over for them when they hit the border and they can seek asylum. the crisis for them in their home country and the journey across mexico is over. >> reporter: since 2014, mayor jim darlings mcallen has become the epicenter of the border debate. it's where the tens of thousand us undocumented families are released with future immigration court dates. after their released, legal asylum seekers make their way into the respite center. >> the crisis is the crisis we create when we don't facilitate a safe passage for families who are innocent, children, moms, infants. >> hello, sister, how are you. >> reporter: as an opponent to president trump's border barrier, she's among the majority in this democratic region of a red state. but

i'm delighted that the president is down in south texas, along the border, with my former bosses cornyn and cruz. as congressman, i'm glad he's focused on border security. today, there's going to be a little girl that's going to be be a abducted and sold into the sex trafficking trade. there will be an american citizen put in danger like jared vargas, near my ticket, murdered last july, his mother, aunt, family don't have the ability to be around jared. this is what people are tired of. they're getting tired of the same old and want common sense solutions, border security with fencing. i'm glad the president is down there meeting with folks. everybody in texas is ready for a solution. that fencing, the immigration judges, it's all. other solutions that are part of the package. >> neil: you talk about all. other solutions, you know, there does seem to be a willingness to recognize the other side's argument. the president has said that for example, he never was really talking about a wall per se when we have plenty of clips of him talking about a wall. now he's open to steel slats and oth

president trump took his public pitch for a border wall to south texas. live picture of air force one returning to washington minutes ago. arriving at joint base andrews. the president spent the day in texas making a case for his border wall. president trump, when he was in texas was briefed by officials along the rio grande and joined in a round table discussion that included the brother of ronil singh. the accused killer is in the country illegally. >> at 33 years old, ronil singh was cremated, and i had to pick up his remains. no one should ever, ever go through that. looking at that 5 month old baby. >> president trump seems to be consid considering the controversial o option of declaring a national emergency. the bills are piling up, but no money is coming in. and american federal workers are panicking. some pufurloughed workers from e epa protested, demanding a the end to the shutdown. the workers marched and chanted on hawthorne street. millions of americans aren't getting a paycheck. 800,000 and growing. >> both my husband and i work for the epa.

yesterday, he took his message to the front lines and visited the border in south texas. he praised border patro agents and met with victims of crime of undocumented immigrants. exclusive fphotos show aegular saw was able to cut through the prototype. the president says that will be fixed before the wall goes up. >> common sense. they need a barrier. they need a wall. if you don't have it, it will be nothing but hard work and grueling problems. and by the way, and death. and death. a lot of >> the president says if the stalemate continues, he will declare a national emergency and redirect already appropriated money toward the border wall. >>> more on the shutdown coming up throughout this broadcast. we have resources on our nbcgt wash app for struggling furloughed workers. shutdown.ch >>> five minutes after the hour. we learned late yesterday that president trump's former lawyer and fixer, michael cohen, will publicly testify in front of the house oversight and reforme. committe that's scheduled for february 7th. last month, cohen was sentenced to three years in prison. h

we're in south texas, talking to people who want the president's border wall and others who say they'd lose everything if it's built. >> could your food be less safe because of the partial government shutdown? federal regulators say they stopped routine food inspections for now. we'll tell you which foods could be considered high risk. >> a new lawsuit claims world's number one weather app is deceptively tracking your locations. hear from a u.s. senator who says big-tech companies cannot be trusted to police themselves. >> plus, in our series, a perfect union, meet two transplant patients who bonded while waiting for rare life-saving surgery that made medical history. >> but we begin this morning with a look at today's eye opener. your world in 90 seconds. >> so many of those people are saying it's very hard for me, it's very hard for my family. but, mr. president, you're doing the right thing, get it done. >> the president bolts a meeting and the shutdown continues. >> the president just got up and walked out. he asked speaker pelosi, will you agree to my wall? she said no. and he jus

he visited south texas yesterday and met with border patrol agents. he held a press conference with family members of people killed by undocumented miimgrants. the s presides if he doesn't receive the funding from congress, he will declare a national emergency. >> with workers in our areast ggling to make ends meet, we're working with you to make sure you know where to get wehe. an report that the capital area food bank is having five free pop-up food markets. look at the locations on your screen. on saturday, produce and er nohable items will be distributed to employees at select giant stores. >> we plan to hold the markets til the end ofhe shutdown and until federal workers get the next pay chex. we'll starte with the f locations this weekend. and w depends on the needll be able to better target where we post the poarup foodts during the duration of the shutdown. >> the markets will be opened from 9:00 in the morning until noon. al you have to do is bring your federal or federal contractor i.d. >>> a jab fair ob fair schedule today is at capacity. e

i grew up in south texas, but my congressman, i tried to get a hold of his office. the problem is the republicans are not telling the american people how much these illegals are costing the american taxpayer by way of housing, free food, and medical care. the slogan should be every dollar we spend on an illegal immigrant is a dollar we could be spending on a child we send to college. that would resonate with every family in america. host: congress in? guest: it is an interesting point. we would love to have an estimate. if we do secure the border there , are people who believe the cbo will score a dollar spent on border security as saving multiple dollars. the caller is absolutely right. if you think about what is going on, we have hundreds of thousands of people claiming asylum, coming into the country, they are put on a two-year or three year waiting list for their adjudication. that is not timely justice. if someone comes, we should adjudicate those cases probably. 80% to 90% of people who request asylum do not get it because they do not have a legitimate cause.

south texas continues to lead the country in apprehensions as well as marijuana seizures in between thep are committed to the border and humanitarian vision. mr. president, senators, couldn't do it without your support, appreciate you coming down here, means oh lot to the men and women of dhs, border patrol, local law enforcement. >> president trump: thank you. thank you very much. so they apprehended people from the middle east and they do it all the time. everybody says where are they from. we're not talking about only mexico. all over the world they come in because it's a weak spot. they -- weak spot. the laws have to be strong, and we need security, we need the kind of backup that you want. they have asked, by the way, we have lists of things, what they need more than anything is the barrier, the wall. call it whatever you want. whether it's steel or concrete, you don't care. we need a barrier. >> right. >> president trump: they have done a fantastic job. never so many apprehensions, ever, in our history. but, you know, it could be a lot easier, ee easier for you and spread your peo

. >>> striking new dash cam video out of south texas shows the tense moments when a driver here takes off with three police officers. u'll see them hanging right there in the door. one officer, who was unable to let go in time, w hurt the footage was shot from two different angles by p rol vehicles. in the second video, you can clearly see the officer there in the front get stuck. officers were reportedly responding to a c for a man asleep behind the wheel when the incident hatchppened. police do not have the driver in custody. >>> let's go back to bill here facing some possibly historic temperatures in places kind of known for being cold. >> it's usually a big deal when you break a record. but when you break all-time sp records,ially with places like chicago that have over 100 years of history, that's a really big deal. once in a lifetime event for some people, this cold outbreak obviously cold for days. the peak of the cold is wednesday. without a doubt, jus about across the board that will be the coldest daytime high. that will be theoldest morning low and windchills we're going to

for example, there is a nuclear power plant called the south texas project. that has two reactors that have been running since 1979. you do the math, the guys working there from the get-go are now retiring. the local county judge said, to the local colleges, help me retrain the workforce. so these high school graduates are going to local college with .a. and learning nuclear reactors. better, morer work viable, more efficient, drives up. costs, drives productivity, which is great price waterhouse cooper, about a month ago, ai will add somewhere north of $17 trillion to the world economy in 10 years. is -- the only one country that has more than that in gdp, is america. that is more than china's gdp. embrace the change, embrace, embrace, don't be afraid. rep. kelly: we have to start young, though. --have comity colleges that comity colleges who work with companies to give these job skills, but we have to work with it to get people in the mindset that yes, you can do that. brian: this is indirectly related to ai, i figured it was an interesting segue periodical

little bit of rain in south florida and also south texas but that's about it.sunday it's very kind of quiet. we're just going to be tracking a lot of >> here's one great thing about that cold. we're going to show you it's d.ing to make a true believer of a winter wonderl to severe plat clearer. and stay clearer. most patients who saw 90% clearer skin at 28 weeks stayed clearer through 48 weeks. tremfya® may lower your ability to fight infections and may increase your risk of infections. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. tell your doctor if you have an infection or have symptoms such as: fever, sweats, chills, muscle aches or cough. before starting tremfya® tell your doctor if you plan to or have recently received a vaccine. tremfya®. stay clearer. janssen can help you explore cost support options. tand, our adulte children are here. so, we save by using tide. which means we use less. three generations of clothes cleaned in one wash. those are moms. anybody seen my pants? nothing cleans better. put those on dad! it's

i serve -- houston and all south texas, if it went for ondcp and funding -- and this is your best -- i'm sure some of the feds may differ but there is a matrix of state, local, and federal. they are part of those hidas across the nation and they are the subject matter and they helped us with intelligence, outreach, etc., to try to work on this. but you know, until we have this meeting of a barrier, wall, call it what you want, you got to have that before we can solve our problems down the road. thank you, mr. president. president trump: thank you, sheriff. when you talk about the big trailers coming in and loaded up with people as the doors are locked in the back, and sometimes they're left abandoned and they all die -- a hell of a death. they're suffocated. they come from the other side of the border. they don't go through a checkpoint. they can't go through a checkpoint. they open up the back doors and take a look. you go in the different areas. they go in between the checkpoints. most of the problem -- we get a lot -- we had a lot of drugs, a lot of things at the checkpoints but t

here in south texas we really receive an awful amount of community support.king for more agents, boots on the ground, all of these are very significant in order to improve conditions that are happening in south texas. i do think it's helpful that people come here, in 2014 we had a crisis and i would like to encourage our politicians and folks in washington d.c. to come down and see firsthand for yourself exactly was happening. not just one piece of it but border security and humanitarian. >> he talk about the three components that you have asked for, infrastructure, manpower and technology. but if you look at the polls nationally, 34 percent supported a wall last year and 63 opposed it. it's dramatically changed. almost a 10 percent shift favorable. only 54 percent are opposing this. it seems to me that in your 55 miles of wall, where you have one, you've had results. but you are asking this administration, this congress, for an additional hundred or so. how important is that? >> i made a statement to our president. really to america that we need to finish th

what this catholic nun wants the president and all americans to know about life in south texas. the unknown beyond the horizon. that was once our frontier. but today, a new frontier has risen. and this is the vehicle crafted to conquer it. introducing the first-of-its-kind lexus ux and ux f sport, also available in hybrid all-wheel drive. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. people are managing their type 2 diabetes with fitness, friends and farxiga, the pill that starts with f. farxiga, along with diet and exercise, helps lower a1c in adults with type 2 diabetes. it's one pill a day. and although it's not a weight loss drug, it may help you lose weight. do not take if allergic to farxiga. if you experience symptoms of a serious allergic reaction such as rash, swelling, difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking and seek medical help right away. do not take farxiga if you have severe kidney problems, are on dialysis, or have bladder cancer. tell your doctor right away if you have blood or red color in your urine or pain while you urinate. farxiga can cause serious side

south texas, arizona.hey would be devastated with this wall. >> i'm sure you heard from the president had to say in that 13 minute speech. anything in there give you optimism this is going to be worked out in the next few days? what do you make of what he proposed? >> it is like a shell game. where is the red, right? >> he goes ahead and tries to do a way with daca and tps. courts step in in november and october. keep the programs soopen and moving forward. this is the shell game. doing away with the kri sies he created. those numbers are staggering. i have nasa workers that are furloughed. when i travel out laugd, they say, go fight for us. i don't know where he's getting those numbers. if that question were to be asked, how did that affect your district, do you think? >> it would not only impact undocumented kids in funding for education, it would impact everybody. if you are a citizen, you have an aunt or uncle, sister or brother in your household that is undocumented. you may choose not to respond, the

we're in south texas, talking to people who want the president's border wall and others who say they'd lose everything if it's built. >> could your food be less safe because of the partial government shutdown? federal regulators say they stopped routine food inspections for now. we'll tell you which foods could be considered high risk. >> a new lawsuit claims world's number one weather app is deceptively tracking your locations. hear from a u.s. senator who says big-tech companies cannot be trusted to police themselves. >> plus, in our

>> here, in south houston, texas, robert harper is about to give me a tour inside his strange inheritancerailcar that used to chug around the amusement park outside the astrodome. the harper family ends up with the car after its owner, texas legend roy hofheinz, suffers a debilitating stroke in 1970 and is forced to sell off parts of his astro empire. >> the judge made a lot of money, but he also lost a lot of money. he leveraged every project against each other. he had just become overextended. >> in the late '70s, hofheinz sells astroworld to the six flags corporation. at the time, robert's dad is just entering the commercial-real-estate business and buying up land here in south houston for multiuse industrial buildings. through a mutual friend, he gets word that judge hofheinz is looking for a storage building large enough to house his beloved railcar. >> they called up my dad and said, "do you have a place that you haven't built a building yet?" so they brought the railroad car and set it down, and he built it around it. >> now, why did he have to build the building around the railcar

. >> if you're in south texas, floyd's christian restaurant, come at ncs, we want to hear from the folkse army, and in 5 shutdowns, we will talk to both of them. and two hours south of here. and the showdown over the wall continues, talk to the folks in corpus christi where they have a great chicken price, i cannot wait. uld like 'cuz i'm way too busy. who's got the time to chase around down dirt, dust and hair? so now, i use heavy duty swiffer sweeper and dusters. for hard-to-reach places, duster makes it easy to clean. it captures dust in one swipe. ha! gotcha! and (new) sweeper heavy duty cloths lock away a twice as much dirt and dust. it gets stuff deep in the grooves other tools can miss. you know what? my place is a lot cleaner now. stop cleaning. start swiffering. hodoing great dad!er does this thing got? looking good babe! are you filming? at booking.com, we can't guarantee you'll be any good at that water jet thingy... but we can guarantee the best price on a hotel, like this one. or any home, boat, treehouse, yurt, whatever. get the best price on homes, hotels and so much more.

he visited the border in south texas yesterday and praised border patrol together agents work. there's questions whether the proposed wall will actually work take a look. exclusive photosy obtained nbc news, showed a regular saw was able to cut through the steel slat prototyp during a security test the president says that will be mixed before a wall goes up. >>> coming up, we'll have an update from the white house on ether the president plans to declare a national emergency for funding forllis >>> to helper if l er ifefurlou feed their families, the capital area food banks will have grocery stations. we'll have more on that. >>> a job fair to work in the school system is at capacity. that's why they'reaving another hiring event next tuesday in false thchurch. ere will be forms you need to fill out before you show up and important information you need to be bringing with you. you can find more information about all this in the nbc washington app. >>> it's lo6:34. deng this morning, the vatican has confirmed that cardinal donald k wuerlw of misconduct allegations against theodore

you cannot have a wall along the rio grande in south texas which is a very winding river.cing or a wall be fortified in places? most border security experts will tell you you need more surveillance, more lighting, more immigration judges to move these cases along. i hate to see the parties debating and negotiating this get too entrenched in wall versus no wall. there's a fair amount of nuance. there's a wall, fencing. border security requires a range of things. on top of al mountain does not make sense. it is not a smart investment. david: we have people coming into the country by air. any number of people who may have overstated their visas are here because they flew into the country. we have drugs coming into ports. you know the national security situation, homeland security. what is the importance of port visas of of policing people who fly into the country? >> port security is vital. we should not lose our focus on that. last week, the white house cited the level of illegal narcotics being smuggled across our southern border. most of that comes through the ports where

. >> reporter: south texas diana into the river that divides the u.s. and mexico.his stretch of the rio grande is the busiest sector in the country. since the start of the shutdown, a new challenge for the agents. answers phones, processing paperwork, even helping care for detainees. some agents have had to leave the front line to perform administrative tasks. >> we have agents engaged in our humanitarian mission. >> fortunately we do have i think sufficient amount of personnel out in the field. like i said, we were able to bring in 75 officers from the northern border from some of the oh s other sectors to help us out. >> reporter: santana and her husband say they feel at ease. >> we feel safe. i don't think there's any danger. you might see it in the news sometimes, you know, they caught people. we've never seen that. i have never seen that. >> reporter: santana has lived here all her life and says she doesn't agree with the picture of a crisis painted by the president. she feels border fencing already in place is sufficient to protect against human and drug smug

texas. which has changed because of redistricting three times since i've been elected. but the core is kind of south-central texas, ellis county, navarro county, tarrant county and at various times we've gone as far south as montgomery country -- montgomery county, gone up into tarrant and parker county in the west, hood county and hill county. it's currently configured, a little over 600,000 people. when you run for congress, mr. speaker, you really run because you want to help people. you want to be their spokesperson. on the house floor. but also with bureaucracy, with executive branch, and in some cases with the private sector. to make sure that they get a fair shake. year we have en ver 1,000 pending cases in the district and success rate of around 80%, some of those cases stand out more than others. i want to give you a few. as a young congressman back in got a e 1980's, we still lot of what i call real mail, letters, handwritten letters from people. and one night i was in my office in longworth, going through the mail and jotting down responses or looking at draft responses that my staff had

a key question as to what is actually happening on other parts of the border, including here in south texasrsonally tell you that according to what authorities say on the ground, these are the kinds of operations by drug cartels on the mexican side that have been going on for years. a little while ago i just got off the phone with a local police officer here in hidalgo, texas, basically the last city you stop by before going over the international bridge to the city in mexico across the river. the police officer basically telling me they have been struggling to really catch up with these kinds of operations. for example, for the last ten years, police here in hidalgo say they are aware of these drug smugglers basically using the city's own drainage system and the network of pipes underground to basically smuggle these drugs. if you look, you'll see that is mainly marijuana, not the harder drugs that have been mentioned specifically by president trump, but marijuana does continue to be smuggled into the united states according to local police, using the city's own system of drains, and that

it is going to strangle the economy of south texas and new mexico and arizona and california. we'll be severely hurt if the wall comes up. >> you were right about the majority of people who do not want this power. democrats put power back in the house. are you saying there is absolutely nothing that you would think was worth it. is there no path to citizenship or a comprehensive plan for immigration reform and try to put on the table. >> we would like to see that comprehensive plan for immigration reform that includes dreamers and tps and splitting families from their seven-month-old baby, we want to see that. that's a solution for our problem and not a modern day wall that must take all of us. >> if nobody sits down, what happens? >> democrats are doing unilateral conferences and perezipere pressing buttons and using code words that are not constructed. i think we want to do that. most america on today, on martin luther king's day, who stood for bridges and not wall. >> if trump refused to come to the table and democrats refused, how much will this last? >> he already owned t

. >> we've been seen caravans coming in from south, texas,. they're apprehending 1,000 illegal alien coming into the country. a couple of days ago in the yum sector, three border patrol agents came across 376 illegal aliens across the border there.m it's a humanitarian crisis causing a lot of problems. not only for the migrants but for our agents and american workers. >> they are going to run into i if they go towards tijuana. already, someone-2,000 the numbers vary, migrants are ther from the last caravan. this is the way splashing up against a border that the president may well close or if they go to someplace else, they end up with an infusion, they get released into the el paso community. this issue is just continuing t grow. what needs to be done about it now and is mexico going to be any help or are they just going to pass through as usual.hr >> clearly mexico needs to go o their part in stopping these people from coming to the country like a free pass. use of them say they gates were wide open. mexico definitely said somethin about that

up next, cnn takes you to south texas to hear straight from the people who live there.u're live in the cnn newsroom. -jamie, this is your house? -i know, it's not much, but it's home. right, kids? -kids? -papa, papa! -[ laughs ] -you didn't tell me your friends were coming. -oh, yeah. -this one is tiny like a child. -yeah, she is. oh, but seriously, it's good to be surrounded by what matters most -- a home and auto bundle from progressive. -oh, sweetie, please, play for us. -oh, no, i couldn't. -please. -okay. [ singing in spanish ] -please. -okay. at to cover the essentialsyou have in retirement, as well as all the things you want to do. because when you're ready for what comes next, the only direction is forward. (clapping) every day, visionaries are creating the future. ( ♪ ) so, every day, we put our latest technology and vast expertise to work. ( ♪ ) the united states postal service makes more e-commerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country, affordably and on-time. (ringing) ( ♪ ) the future only happens with people who really know how to deliver it.

yesterday, he took his mesge to the front lines and visited the border in south texas. he praised border patrol agents and met with victims of crime of undocumented immigrants.he meanwhile,'s questions of whether the propose ld wall will actually work. exclusive photos show a regular saw was le to cut through the prototype during a departmenurof homeland sy test. the president says that will be fixed before the wall goes up. >> common sense. they need a barrier. if you don't have it, it will be nothing but hard work and gruelingroblems. and by the way, and death. and death. a lot of death. >> the president says if the stalemate continues, he will declare a national emergency and redirect already appropriated funding towards his border wall. >>> more on the shutdown coming up throughout this bst. we have resources on our nbc washington app for struggling furloughed workers. just search shutdown. >>> we know that president trump's former lawyer and fixer michael cohen wily publi testify in front of the house overnight and reform committee. that's scheduled for february 7t

presiden gtrump on theund in south texas. the outer edge of the country at the center of a growing g controversy iernment shutdown. >> the wall or the steel barrier, they can have any name they want, but we have to have it. and it's going to happen. >> reporter: as he sits down for a round table discussion with border agents, poll situations and delocals. cratic leaders in washington continue to question his motives. i don't think he wants solution. i think he loves the distractmn this is f his other problems. >> house speaker nancy pelosi insisting, bipartisan solutions to border security have been put on the table. >> there's a better away, more effective way to protect --se t re our borders and that is what the debate should be about. >> reporter: right now, though, there is no bate. negotiations have collapsed. and as he's briefed by officials along the rio grand, president trump appears to be strongly considering the controversial option of declaring a national emerge ty for fundibuild his border wall. and if he uses tha

she lived in south texas, a 45-year-old single mother.on to ring in 2019 with her family. they say that she was just out running a few errands at the time of the accident. authorities say this is unfortunately a case of the woman being in the wrong place at the wrong time. now her family, her daughter, they all want justice. listen. >> he did what he did. he took my mother's life. so he has to pay for what happened. >> as for that 14-year-old, unlicensed driver, he suffered a broken ankle in the crash, taken to the hospital and has been arrested and now in detention at a juvenile facility formally charged with murder now. trace? >> trace: casey stegall live in dallas. thank you. let's bring in bob bianchi, a defense attorney and former prosecutor. the daughter of the victim is right. he did what he did. somebody has to be held accountable for this. >> absolutely, this is the kind of case where you need to send deterrence. this issue of teens and people driving recklessly and causing depth is a rampant epidemic throughout the country. ther