Sen. Hoeven: Illegal immigrants being given court dates 'three to four years' away, as crisis worsens

Senate Appropriations Committee member John Hoeven, R-N.D., told Fox News on Tuesday that illegal immigrants who are given notice-to-appear tickets by federal immigration authorities are receiving court dates that are several years into the future, as the border crisis overwhelms government resources.

He said that those illegally entering the United States from near Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico are being processed in a makeshift area under the Anzalduas International Bridge, which connects that city with Mission, Texas. "What is happening is in some cases they were being processed under the bridge. We saw hundreds and hundreds of children and mothers and they essentially didn't go to the processing center," said Hoeven, who toured the border with 17 other Republican senators hosted by the border patrol union. "They were actually -- they go into town and like I said, are given a bus ticket and off they go. They're given a notice that they're supposed to appear in court, but in many cases that's not for three or four years," the North Dakota lawmaker continued.