Texas Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar expressed his readiness to collaborate with incoming border czar Tom Homan to address the ongoing border crisis. Cuellar, who represents a district along the U.S.-Mexico border, emphasized the importance of bipartisan cooperation on policies to improve border security, even as fellow Democrats have voiced opposition to President-elect Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans.

Cuellar highlighted specific measures that could be enacted immediately to stem the crisis, such as reinstating the “Remain in Mexico” policy, expediting deportations under existing laws, and prioritizing the removal of criminals and individuals with final deportation orders.

“In fact, today, I was communicating with Tom, and we talked about getting together sometime when I get back to D.C. in the next week or so,” Cuellar said Tuesday. “I think we can find a lot of common ground.”

Cuellar, who reached out to Homan directly, noted that the border czar was receptive to dialogue.

“Tom knows what needs to work, and I can give him my experience. It’s interesting Tom and I are talking to each other. We might not agree on everything, but certainly we can agree to deport quickly the criminals, the national security folks, the 1.3 million final deportation people that have a final deportation order and are still here,” Cuellar added.

The congressman called on his Democratic colleagues to engage with Homan, pointing out that bipartisan agreement is possible on certain aspects of border security, such as deporting criminals.

“I told some of the Democrats, you can agree on deporting criminals, right? Some of them hesitated,” Cuellar said, describing their reluctance as a “mistake.”

Cuellar also weighed in on Trump’s proposal to impose a 25% tariff on Mexico to pressure the country into cooperating on immigration and fentanyl smuggling. While acknowledging the potential economic impact on his district, which handles 40% of U.S.-Mexico trade, Cuellar said he believes the threat will bring Mexico to the negotiating table.

“I know this is a way to negotiate, get some leverage. I know that Mexico will come to the table,” Cuellar said. “But nobody wants a 25 percent tariff on them, and the Mexicans are threatening to do the same thing. We don’t want to get into that, but I think this will definitely get Mexico to the table so we can solve the problem about immigration and fentanyl.”

Cuellar has frequently criticized the Biden administration for its handling of the border crisis, calling on Democrats to take a more pragmatic approach to address the overwhelming challenges faced by border communities.