A Republican congressman from Louisiana asked if Kamala Harris was kidding by sharing an agenda to fix the illegal immigration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border through Central American countries not border security.
Harris’ agenda, shared Thursday, had a five-point general strategy to manage the “root causes” of illegal immigration. The agenda does not have any timeframe and doesn’t have any specific policies. Instead, it calls for using “diplomacy, foreign assistance, public diplomacy, and sanctions” to “establish a fair, orderly, and humane immigration system.”
Reacting on Fox News on Friday, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-L.A.) condemned Harris for trying for these goals without securing the U.S. border.
“We’re scratching our heads here on Capitol Hill,” Johnson said. “It’s hard to believe that she wants to focus on things that she said on her list, you know, economic issues and ‘advance the rule of law’ she says; she wants to combat violent crime in Central American countries? I mean, is this some sort of a joke?”
“Of course, those are noble goals, but this administration has created those very crises here in the United States,” he added.
Since coming into office, President Biden has made a point of retracting as many of former President Donald Trump’s immigration policies as possible. Biden has stopped border wall construction, ended Trump’s remain-in-Mexico policy for asylum-seekers, and reinstated the catch-and-release policies of the Obama administration.
The Biden administration has tried to portray the illegal immigration crisis as a humanitarian and global issue, rather than the crime at the border. Harris’ agenda brings up the “push” factors of migration, like natural disasters in Central America, poverty, hunger, and gangs, which all leads to people leaving their homes and on their way to America.
“In Central America, the root causes of migration run deep — and migration from the region has a direct impact on the United States,” the vice president said. “For that reason, our nation must consistently engage with the region to address the hardships that cause people to leave Central America and come to our border.”
Republicans often talk of “pull” factors — United States policies that entice illegal immigrants to come here by offering amnesty, protection from deportation, jobs, benefits, and other government programs Democrats want to allow illegal immigrants to have.
“It seems very much to us like this administration cares more about people who are not Americans than those who are,” Johnson said, echoing comments from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on the Biden administration’s focus.
The combination of push and pull factors has contributed to record increases of illegal immigrants since Biden took office. This last fiscal year, more than one million illegal aliens have been caught by border agents. The sheer number of migrants arriving creates issues for immigration enforcement agencies, which have to find a place for all of these people to go, and the issue is complicated by COVID-19, gangs, violent crimes, kids without parents or guardians, and American communities that feel overrun.
Tens of thousands of these migrants have been let go after being caught without being given a date to go to court to have their asylum claims processed. Many of these people disappear into the U.S. without reporting to Immigration and Customs Enforcement or showing up for those court dates as they were told. Many commit crimes in the U.S. that would have been prevented if the border were secured.
“We have an unprecedented, unmitigated disaster at the border,” Johnson said. “It’s beyond a crisis now. It’s a humanitarian, health, national security issue that we are going to be hard-pressed to get our arms around if the administration does not step up immediately and help us fix this problem.”
The Republican lawmaker squarely blamed Biden for adding to the border crisis by retracting most of former President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
“Yes, there are problems in Central America, all around the world,” he said. “And we’re the most benevolent nation in the world, by far it’s not even close. But we’ll never be able to do that unless we can maintain first our own security and sovereignty and that’s what securing the border is about.
“This administration is ignoring it and focusing on problems elsewhere in the world, it makes no sense.”