How did Sen. Ed Markey spend this three-day holiday weekend? With a trip to Mexico.

But this was for work, not for fun.

The Massachusetts senator joined fellow Democrats Sen. Ben Cardin, of Maryland, and Sen. Jeff Merkley, of Oregon, in a trip to the United States-Mexico border and Mexico City. Markey, Cardin, and Merkley are all members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

According to Markey’s office, the senators spent Saturday meeting with top Mexican government officials to talk about trade and drug trafficking. The discussions primarily focused on potential NAFA reforms to help workers affected by free trade and addressing the cross-border flow of the synthetic opioid fentanyl.


On Sunday, they visited the border to assess border security, as well as the apprehension, detention, and treatment of undocumented immigrants, according to the senator’s office.

Following the trip, Markey returned with one outstanding takeaway: President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall won’t work.

“Building a wall is not a comprehensive plan to address our nation’s opioid crisis, nor does it represent the comprehensive immigration reform that will help put millions on a pathway to citizenship,” he said in a statement Tuesday.

Customs and Border Protection agents with Sens. Cardin, Merkley, and Markey (far right). —Sen. Ed Markey's office

Markey said Trump’s “divisive rhetoric” makes it difficult to address serious issues.

“Instead of building walls, we need to build bridges with Mexico to ensure we stop the deadly flow of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids that is devastating Massachusetts,” he said. The Bay State senator has consistently criticized Trump’s proposed border wall as a misguided and ineffective response to the opioid crisis.

Following the announcement of plans by the Trump administration to step up deportation efforts, Markey released another statement Tuesday afternoon, suggesting that the Department of Homeland Security change it’s name.

“With these new guidelines, President Trump wants DHS to stand for Department of Hate and Suspension. These Homeland Security directives will result in more raids, mass deportations, and fear and terror within our immigrant communities. Tearing apart families and targeting hard-working immigrants is un-American. These directives will only have a chilling effect on communities throughout Massachusetts and the nation, causing immigrants to recede further into the shadows. With these guidelines, President Trump shifts the focus from where it belongs — undocumented immigrants who have committed serious crimes — and instead turns his sights on all undocumented immigrants, wrongly turning them suspects in the same way he has sought to turn all Muslims into suspects with his unconstitutional refugee ban. President Trump should rescind this damaging executive order and commit to working with Congress on real comprehensive immigration reform.”

As CNN reported Tuesday, the new guidance memos provide direction on how to carry out Trump’s executive order on immigration last month, which included constructing a border wall and expanding leeway for immigration officials to decide who to deport.