Ted Cruz: Cartels, human smugglers are 'taunting' border patrol as they enter U.S. illegally

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said on Friday that he saw human traffickers and cartel members "taunting" U.S. Border Patrol as they cross into the U.S. illegally.

Cruz posted a video at 2:15 a.m. from the southern border, where he described his observations of the conditions.

"We have been listening to and seeing cartel members, human traffickers right on the other side of the river, waving flashlights yelling and taunting Americans, taunting the Border Patrol, because they know that under the current policies of the Biden administration they can flood over here," Cruz said.

"They're getting paid $4-5000 a person to smuggle them into this country and our policies, when they smuggle them in, the Biden administration releases them," he added.

He later tweeted about the increase of drug smuggling activity across the border so far in 2021. 

The Biden Administration has banned journalists from riding along with U.S. Border Patrol to cover the surge of illegal activity at the border. The media is also prohibited from covering the conditions inside immigration detention centers. Cruz said he's leading a delegation to the border to inform the public about the dire situation.