One of President Donald Trump’s leading allies on Capitol Hill is calling on him to reconvene Congress to push for a solution on the immigration crisis.

U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., wrote to Trump on the matter on Wednesday, calling him to summon Congress back to Washington D.C.

Yoho praised Trump on immigration and said Congress was not helping him deal with the problem.

“The president is doing all he can to secure our nation’s borders,” Yoho said on Wednesday. “However, many in Congress continue to play politics with our national security and refuse to give the president the tools he needs to gain operational control of our southern border.

“The House and Senate are currently in recess,” Yoho added. “Considering the momentous events along our southwest border, I am asking President Trump to call members of Congress back to Washington, D.C. to address immigration and border security. I believe these are extraordinary times and the massive influx of individuals trying to gain entrance into the United States from Central America, South America, and around the world will only increase.

“Like many in my district, I feel strongly about the safety of our nation,” Yoho continued. “Congress has been derelict in their duty for over thirty years in trying to implement or enforce immigration policy. These issues should not be used as a political football and continuously punted down the field. We need to come together as Americans, not Republicans and Democrats and solve immigration and border security once and for all. The American people demand a solution to these issues.”

First elected to Congress in 2012 after he upset longtime U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., in the primary, Yoho currently leads Republicans on the U.S. House Asia and Pacific Subcommittee. A longtime large animal veteran who worked in North Central Florida for three and a half decades, Yoho has pledged to serve four terms in Congress.

Kevin Derby can be reached at Kevin.Derby@floridadaily.com.