Senator John Cornyn, Congressman Marc Veasey discuss migrant deaths in San Antonio, Roe v Wade

NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The number of migrants who have died after they were abandoned in a tractor trailer has now risen to 51.

Authorities in San Antonio say more than a dozen people are being treated for heat-related injuries at local hospitals.

U.S. Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas said in an interview with CBS 11 on Tuesday, "This is very predictable, because these drugs and human traffickers care nothing about the humanity of these migrants. They're a commodity, they're a way to make a buck, and unfortunately, here the results turned out tragically."

U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth called the news, "Very sad. It shouldn't be that way.. As long as the sort of instability, the issues that they're having there with Narcos and drug trafficking, people are going to continue to flee."

Federal statistics show there were a record number of people who crossed the southern border last month: nearly 240,000.

Since the new federal fiscal year began Oct. 1, there have been more than 1.5 million people who entered the U.S. illegally.

Congressman Veasey said he thinks the American people should demand both parties in the House and Senate work together to develop a comprehensive immigration bill.

Senator Cornyn said last year, he filed a bipartisan bill that would have established new processing centers in high traffic border patrol sectors, given ICE and Border Patrol more resources, and deterred illegal migration.

We asked both Veasey and Cornyn if there could be bipartisan legislation that's passed in Congress following this tragedy, just as the Senate and House approved gun safety legislation following the deadly mass shooting in Uvalde.

Senator Cornyn said, "We've tried before, and I'm going to keep trying. Unfortunately, the Biden administration seems to be completely paralyzed by its base, which doesn't believe in any kind of border controls, and that's been the problem. Maybe this will shock the conscience to the point it will actually prompt some action." 

Congressman Veasey said, "If the Republicans and Mitch McConnell will cooperate with the majority leader, then I guarantee you that we can get something to Biden's desk, and I guarantee that the American people will like that system a lot better than the human smuggling system."

Veasey blamed Republicans for the stalemate. 

Republicans have said President Biden hasn't gone to the southern border to see the problem firsthand.

We spoke with Senator Cornyn just days after the bipartisan gun safety legislation he negotiated passed both the Senate and House and President Biden signed it. 

It includes money for mental health, school security, and it also includes funding for states with and without red flag laws and enhances background checks for gun buyers younger than 21. 

The measure passed one month after 19 students and their two teachers were killed at Robb Elementary School.

Cornyn said, "What differentiates this from so much of what happens in Washington is people actually wanted to get a result.  President Biden said do something. What we knew we had to do is something that would actually pass."

As he and other Senate Republicans negotiated with Senate Democrats on a bill, Cornyn went to Houston to address the Texas Republican Party Convention.

Many delegates booed him. "I thought it was important to show up.  Unfortunately, there were some people there who didn't want to listen and wanted to yell down yellow over my remarks and make it impossible for others to hear. That's unfortunate." 

We also asked Cornyn and Veasey about the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade. 

Congressman Veasey said he's not surprised but he called it devastating for women. 

Senator Cornyn agreed with the ruling and the court's decision to send the issue back to the state legislatures to handle. "Ultimately, the American people are going to have to make this decision, and the elected representatives of the people in the various states are going to make the decision. So this, to me is a much better, much more legitimate way of deciding this very controversial issue." 

Rep. Veasey said, "Saying that it can be left up to the states is dangerous and scary. Why shouldn't women in Texas have the same rights as women in California? That absolutely makes no sense of something that's so personal to people, something that's so personal to women."

Last year, the Texas legislature approved a bill that was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott in the event the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. 

The law bans most abortions with the exception to save the life of the mother.

Doctors convicted of performing abortions could face life in prison and fines of at least $100,000.