LAREDO, Texas – U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reiterated her opposition to a border wall Friday during a visit to Laredo.
"There isn't going to be a wall," the Democrat said during a news conference, where she was joined by U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar and Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz.
Pelosi said that Rep. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, of San Antonio, introduced a resolution Friday aimed at reversing President Donald Trump's emergency declaration, which would provide funding for a wall along the U.S./Mexico border.
The three Democrats are in agreement that a wall is not the solution to border security.
"We will be fighting him ... with the courts and the American people," Pelosi told reporters. "We do not see this as a declaration of emergency."
Trump has said if the U.S. House and U.S. Senate approve the resolution, he will veto the bill.
Cuellar told reporters that FBI statistics prove that the crime rate in Laredo and other border cities is lower than the national crime rate.
"All I ask you do is look around, and you will see that there's no national emergency," Cuellar said.
The Laredo native said that 18.9 million Mexican nationals crossed ports of entry in Laredo and spent $20 billion in the United States, boosting the economy and creating jobs for immigrants.
"We believe in security, but we want to do it in a smart way, not in a 14th century solution," Cuellar said. "We'd rather build bridges than walls."
Pelosi was in Laredo to participate in the city's Washington's Birthday Celebration Association festivities, which is a tribute to the country's first president, George Washington.
The House speaker has attended the event for several years.
"I love coming here to celebrate," said Pelosi, who was given the keys to the city by Saenz.