Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, spoke out Tuesday on why he decided to skip an upcoming congressional delegation to the Mexican border in his state, telling Fox News it is time for more significant actions.
Roy, however, praised House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who is organizing the visit, giving the new leader high marks in his first several weeks with the gavel.
"I want to give a strong shout-out to Speaker Johnson for his leadership. I'm totally happy with him taking members of the Republican delegation down to the border," Roy said on "The Story."
"If they don't know what's actually happening at the border after watching all of [Fox News national correspondent] Bill Melugin's great reporting, or if they don't understand the depth of the crisis, it'd be great for them to hear from the ranchers, from the sheriffs, from the local law enforcement, from the Border Patrol that I talk to on a daily and weekly basis."
Johnson will host about 60 Republican federal lawmakers Wednesday at the border, reportedly including House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green of Tennessee, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania.
In a statement announcing his decision to join Johnson, Thompson said Republicans have put forth solutions to the border crisis that President Biden has "failed to address" and that the border officials they plan to meet with have been "sidelined" by "failed policies."
On Fox News, Roy said he has regularly been visiting the border and meeting with officials for four years, and that it is now time to pivot to delivering on obligations from voters who put the GOP in charge of the House.
"We delivered last spring when we came together and we passed H.R. 2, which most people who are objective about it would tell you would actually solve the problem and actually do what needs to be done to honor our laws and secure the border," he said, adding that more drastic measures might need to be taken.
NOT ONE DOLLAR TO UKRAINE UNTIL US BORDER SECURED, GOP REP SAYS
"I was on a phone call this morning with sheriffs and Border Patrol coalition folks and ranchers… And they said to me, 'Congressman Roy, you know, we've got to shut down the border or yes, you should shut down the government.' That's the way people feel about it."
He said the crisis will become even more unsustainable if nothing is done until a potential Biden successor takes office in 2025.
"We can't take this anymore. Texas has spent $12 billion, so it's time for the Congress to do their homework," he said.
Roy later said he has heard comments from other lawmakers, including Republicans, that America is a "nation of immigrants," adding they are correct in that nearly 50 million Americans are foreign-born.
"That puts us at about 15% of the population, which is as high as it's ever been in our history. Of those folks, they've got about 16 to 20 million kids. We're not teaching our kids Western civilization. We're not teaching our kids to believe in the Constitution and believe in America. We are not actually forming a capitalistic system where people are coming here for hard work," Roy warned.
"We're building up a socialist system with a big safety net that is about to break, and all of us who are working hard and the hard-working people out there, they're going to lose what they inherited from their ancestors in this great country."
"So we've got to stop this. It is Republicans' job to put up or shut up," Roy continued, adding that constituents have asked him why Congress would continue to fund a Homeland Security department that is harming the people of Texas with their lax policies.
"That's the question on the table."Â
