Mark Kelly

“That same day, January 12, President Obama and the First Lady also visited Gabby and others who were injured. The president had come to town to speak at a public memorial for the shooting victims, but he first wanted to stop at the hospital.

Before he arrived, a question came into my head. I said to Pia, "If Gabby could talk and was able to ask the president for something, what would it be?" Pia didn't hesitate. "She'd want the president to visit the border, to see what's really going on down there." Over the years, Gabby had sent numerous letters, first to President Bush and then to President Obama, asking them to see the border crisis in southern Arizona with their own eyes.

Each day in Gabby's district, an average of 660 illegal immigrants are apprehended trying to cross the border. That's 240,000 a year. No one knows exactly how many thousands make it through undetected. Gabby was also troubled by the hundreds of thousands of pounds of drugs confiscated at the border of her district each year. How many pounds got through? "This is an emergency," she'd say.

And so when the president came to visit, I waited for my moment to issue an invitation on Gabby's behalf. He and Mrs. Obama were”
― Mark Kelly