County judge heading to DC, will talk border safety with U.S. House committee

El Paso County Judge Veronica Escobar, fresh off a return trip from Washington D.C., is preparing to head back to speak before the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee.

The County judge is known for discussing border-rghts issues. On Wednesday, Escobar will travel to D.C. to discuss what a safe border looks like.

According to the judge, the committee is looking to build metrics to measure what a safe border looks like.

Escobarpointed out sheis the only community member that will be speaking to the committee, adding that she’s already begun working on the speech she intends to give.

“I’m sure it will be very different than what our CBP and Border Patrol friends will be saying,” said Escobar.

Earlier this year, Escobar wrote an opinion article that was printed in the New York Times. In that piece, she wrote that immigration reform talks have been too narrow and overlooked the needs of international port of entries, noting that ports are underfunded.

“When government prioritizes enforcement and minimizes the benefits of the people and goods flowing through those ports, it does so at its own peril,” wrote Escobar. “Just as a path to citizenship for the undocumented would create millions of new taxpayers, a smoother path through our ports would create stronger economies.”

In Commissioners Court on Monday, Escobar noted that the flow of people across the border is tied to economic factors.

For more information from El Paso County Commissioners Court follow ABC-7’s Matthew Smith on Twitter at @MattSmithABC7.