Two dozen House Democrats to head to the border this week

A group of over 20 House Democrats will visit the US-Mexico borderon Thursday and Friday, making it the largest site visit yet by members of Congress to El Paso this year.

Rep. Veronica Escobar of El Paso will host the delegation, which will be led by House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries of New York and includes members from across the ideological spectrum within the caucus. The delegation also includes members from the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

According to Escobar’s office, this is the 12th congressional trip the congresswoman has hosted in El Paso this year.

Members will start the trip in Juarez, Mexico, and will stop at a port of entry and processing facility run by US Customs and Border Protection. They’ll also visit a border patrol station and then later a detention center run by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The trip comes shortly after the House passed a billto improve health conditions of migrants in detention with CBP. When the House returns in September from its month-long recess, it’s also expected to take up Escobar’s bill to implement greater oversight at the Department of Homeland Security, as it handles the humanitarian crisis at the border. The Senate has not indicated it will take up either of the bills.

This week’s visit is one of many trips that members of Congress will have made to the border this summer. Earlier in July, a group of more than a dozen Democrats toured a border detention facility in McAllen, Texas, and a separate group of Democrats visited a facility in Clint, Texas. Also this month, a bipartisan group of Republicans and Democrats went to McAllen, and Vice President Mike Pence visited two facilities in the Rio Grande Valley.

Representatives slated for the upcoming trip this week include:

1. Rep. Alma Adams (NC-12)
2. Rep. Ami Bera (CA-07)
3. Rep. Julia Brownley (CA-26)
4. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (OR-03)
5. Rep. Gil Cisneros (CA-39)
6. Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09)
7. Rep. Jim Cooper (TN-05)
8. Rep. Veronica Escobar (TX-16)
9. Rep. Bill Foster (IL-11)
10. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07)
11. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05)
12. Rep. Denny Heck (WA-10)
13. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18)
14. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08)
15. Rep. Ro Khanna (CA-17)
16. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08)
17. Rep. Stephen Lynch (MA-08)
18. Rep. Tom Malinowski (NJ-07)
19. Rep. Joe Morelle (NY-25)
20. Rep. Joe Neguse (CO-02)
21. Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD-08)
22. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL-09)
23. Rep. Brad Schneider (IL-10)
24. Rep. Haley Stevens (MI-11)
25. Rep. John Yarmuth (KY-03)

CORRECTION: This story has been corrected to reflect which Democratic lawmakers are going on the El Paso trip this weekend.