LAREDO, TEXAS (KGNS) - U.S. Senator Ted Cruz is now back on the job as Texas' senator, but he's not taking a break during this congressional recess.
He's been visiting several cities including Laredo this week.
He met with the chamber of commerce, city leaders, and then went on the tour of the border.
And if we take a close look at what they represent, we can gather the two issues Senator Cruz is focusing on, The economy and security in Texas.
Arriving promptly for his meeting with Laredo leaders and business representative, U.S. senator Ted Cruz is greeted by the chamber of commerce.
"Thank you for visiting our offices. Definitely, always a pleasure and an honor", said Miguel Conchas.
"Miguel, thank you. Thank very much for the hospitatlity. Thank everyone for coming together spending some time visiting", said Cruz.
In a roundtable discussion, Senator Cruz heard about the border communities economic ties with our neighboring country.
"Our trade with Mexico is very important. Security, we realize is important. But, at the same time, we need to keep a balance between security and trade", said Conchas.
These are some of the concerns Cruz heard.
He says he's addressing both, starting by focusing on small businesses, the drivers of the economy.
But the key, and this is something Texas understands and I think the country needs to be more of, is reducing the regulatory burdens, reducing the taxes on small businesses that are the job creators, that are creating 2/3 of all new jobs.
In spurring small business growth.. Cruz says the effect would be a strengthening of social security, medicare, and the military.
Being that Cruz was in a border town with Mexico.. He emphasized security.
Cruz: we need to get serious, particularly about the threats of radical Islamic terrorism which is only getting more and more dangerous.
Border Patrol agents hope Cruz's office understands their unique challenge.
"The Laredo sector covers all the way from the border, from here on Laredo close to the Oklahoma border. It's 171 river miles, it's what we patrol. It's what the Laredo sector is responsible for patrolling, 101 counties. So, it's quite a big area", said Enrique Martinez.
Cruz was given an operational border tour of the Laredo sector, but Conchas feels this benefits everyone.
We need to keep these ports active and offer as much support as they can. Human support in the form of Border Patrol, INS, and every other way.
"We should all be on the same page when it comes to protecting our homeland, to protecting our nation. In the senate, that is a fight that I've been working hard to lead, and it's one that I intend to continue leading", said Cruz.
Many wondered whether he would address his lack of endorsement for Trump.
However, he steered from addressing his run for the presidential nomination during the public portion of the meeting.
After this, Cruz heads to Texarkana and ends his trip in McGregor on Friday.
U.S. senator Ted Cruz is visiting several Texas cities this week.
On Wednesday he stopped in Laredo and met with several leaders and businesses.
Senator Ted Cruz has hopped off the campaign trail and is back to meeting with his constituents during this recess.
He's been meeting with several cities around Texas.
San Antonio started off his day, then he came to Laredo to meet with the chamber of commerce. He's also doing a tour with the Border Patrol.
After this, he goes to Texarcana to take a tour of the army depot.
Afterwards he's going to end his day in Amarillo, where he will resume his visit Thursday morning with Pantex.
He'll go onto Lubbock, take a tour of the USDA lab, go to Abilene and finish his day at the base before heading into Dallas.
Cruz will meet with Texas Instruments, go to Tyler for a healthcare roundtable, and end the tour at Mccregor where he'll meet with people at Spacex.
They tell us this is mainly a tour to reconnect with constituents and talk about issues focused on the economy and security.
"My number one priority is jobs and economic growth. Jobs and economic growth they're foundational to everything else. Every other problem we got, every other challenge we're facing. If the economy is growing, if small businesses are expanding, if there are more jobs, if wages are rising, we can solve all the other challenges. We can strengthen and rebuild our military. We can strengthen and rebuild our military. We can strengthen and preserve social security and medicare. We can pay back our debt", said Cruz.
During the meeting with the chamber of commerce, senator Cruz not only met with city and county leaders, he also met with businesses.
Tonight, we'll hear from the chamber of commerce president on what he hopes the senator takes from this trip.
Cruz will wrap up his visit at the end of Friday.
Senators typically make trips to their home states during the recess.
