Sen. Ron Johnson discusses border security during roundtable event

WISCONSIN (CBS 58) -- While migrant apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border went down in July, U.S. Customs and Border Protection says the total number of apprehensions in the first 10 months of the fiscal year already outpaced last year, setting a new record.

The issue was among the topics of focus during a roundtable discussion hosted by Republican Senator Ron Johnson.

He expressed concern over the record number of border crossings and its impact on the drug trade and how those drugs are affecting communities in Wisconsin.

The Republican senator says he does not believe comprehensive immigration reform is possible without bolstering security at the border.

"Among the many unfortunate things that's been happening during this administration is you set back the possibility of immigration reform, because the first step in doing so is to secure the border, having a border under reasonable control," said Sen. Johnson. "Until we secure the border, we're just not going to be able to do that."

Other officials in the discussion included local sheriffs as well as current and former border officials.