Maybe Joe Biden should put Susan Collins in charge of solving the border crisis. At least she’s taken the time to see it for herself. The Senate Republican reported back this morning from an overnight CODEL at the Mexico frontier, and laid out the crisis exploding at the border in stark terms. Contrary to the picture Biden painted yesterday, this wave isn’t a children’s crusade — it’s a human-trafficking nightmare, and worse.

It’s gotten so bad, Collins says, that drug cartel operatives jeer at Border Patrol agents from across the river. And well they should, as they’re having a field day since Biden took office:

1 AM – I spent the last 3 hours with Border Patrol on night shift in McAllen, TX. 18 Senators learning about the huge influx, 3,000 people per day, including unaccompanied children, illegally entering.

— Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins) March 26, 2021

Border Patrol is overwhelmed, overworked, & discouraged by new policies. Agents took us through a dangerous path to the Rio Grande where we could hear the Cartel members taunting us across the river. Human trafficking, child abuse, & drug smuggling are rampant. This is a crisis.

— Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins) March 26, 2021

The rest of the delegation of Senate Republicans have yet to make any public statements, but most of those are die-hard conservatives. Collins’ testimony will sting even further because she’s the most moderate senator in the GOP caucus. Collins is the most winnable vote for Biden among Republicans in general, and has never been seen as a border hawk. If Collins calls this a crisis, it’s going to be tough for the White House to refute it.

Meanwhile, where is Vice President Kamala Harris today? Visiting the border, as part of her new assignment to deal with the border crisis? Flying to Mexico or Guatemala to flex her diplomatic muscles to thwart this human trafficking and migration? Not exactly — she’s in New Haven, Connecticut, to participate in the Biden administration’s rallies for the already-passed COVID-19 relief bill:

Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to New Haven on Friday, March 26. It is part of the Biden Administration’s “Help is Here” tour highlighting how the Child Tax Credit in the American Rescue Plan helps families. …

She’ll be in the state on Friday as part of the “Help is Here” tour, which highlights what’s being done under the American Rescue Plan and the impact it will have. The $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package allocates money for vaccines, small businesses, and people hit hard by the pandemic. One of the stops she’ll be making is to a child care center in New Haven.

This “Help Is Here” tour launched ten days ago, a promotional effort to burnish Biden’s image with voters. The Border Patrol would loooooove to hear that “Help is Here,” one suspects after Collins’ report. Small wonder Doug Ducey accused Biden of lacking any seriousness about this crisis.