Democrats are pointing their fingers at President Biden for “the worst border security crisis in the nation’s history,” teaming up with Republicans in the latest bipartisan effort to combat the ongoing migrant crisis.
Thirteen House Democrats joined Republicans in voting for H. RES. 1112, a resolution “denouncing the Biden administration’s immigration policies” and calling for stronger border security measures. Several of the Democrats shared with Fox News Digital the reasoning behind their decision to call out the administration’s handling of the crisis.
“President Biden has failed to end the crisis at our southern border, so I voted for H.R. 3602 to do what he won’t: secure our border and stop the violent drug cartels pumping fentanyl into our country,” Rep. Maria Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wa., one of the Democrats who voted in favor of the resolution, told Fox News Digital.
The resolution states that “President Joe Biden and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas have created the worst border security crisis in the Nation’s history.”
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A group of over 100 migrants attempting to enter the U.S. illegally rush a border wall on Thursday, March 21, 2024. In the process, the migrants knock down Texas National Guardsmen before they are halted by the border wall. (James Breeden for New York Post / Mega)
Gluesenkamp Perez added that Biden should reinstate “Remain in Mexico,” a policy that requires migrants seeking asylum in America to wait in Mexico while their application is waiting approval.
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“We don’t need more political grandstanding,” Gluesenkamp Perez said. “The Administration needs to do its job, and Congress needs to pass border security legislation that reflects our values and keeps us safe.”
Another Democrat backing the GOP-led resolution, Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Ill., agreed that “securing our border and addressing immigration challenges is a priority for me as well as for my constituents in Central and Northwestern Illinois” and that “we need to be doing a lot more to fix our broken immigration system, which is why I went to the southern border to see firsthand the work we have in front of us.”
The resolution also charges that President Biden, “beginning on day one of his administration, systematically dismantled effective border security measures and interior immigration enforcement.” (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., said there is a “political wedge” on the issue that needs to be put to an end.
“I agree with Republicans that we have a national security issue at the border – but we have to stop using the border as a political wedge issue and work together to address it,” Craig told Fox in a statement. “It’s time for the House of Representatives to debate the Bipartisan Border Agreement put forth by the Senate earlier this year.”
A spokesperson for Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, told Fox News Digital that the congressman is concerned about “deadly” fentanyl being brought across the southern border and making its way to his district in Maine.
“Congressman Golden believes that border security is national security. He is a member of the Bipartisan Drug Cartel Task Force and is concerned about the flow of deadly fentanyl across the border and into American communities, including in Maine. He has consistently called on Congress and the Biden administration to meaningfully address the crisis at the border,” Goldman’s team told Fox in a statement, adding that “the Congressman will continue pushing the administration to act.”
Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn. (Anna Moneymaker)
The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment at the time of this publication.
The Democrats who signed onto the resolution include Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wa., Jared Golden, D-Maine, Angie Craig, D-Minn., Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, Yadira Caraveo, D-Colo., Nikki Budzinski, D-Ill., Sharice Davids, D-Kan., Don Davis, D-N.C., Josh Harder D- Calif., Steven Horsford, D-Nev., Eric Sorensen, D-Ill., and Susie Lee, D-Nev.
The Biden administration has said that it is dealing with a hemisphere-wide crisis that needs additional funding and fundamental reforms by Congress to what it says is a “broken” immigration system. It claims to have combined consequences for illegal entry with broader pathways for legal migration and that those policies have shown results.
The administration has rejected claims by Republicans that it has pushed “open border” policies and has pointed to over 500,000 removals or returns since last May. President Biden, as well as other administration officials, have called for the passage of a bipartisan Senate package unveiled earlier this year.
Immigrants try to pass over razor wire after crossing the border into El Paso, Texas, on Jan. 31. Those who managed to get through the wire were then allowed to proceed for further processing by U.S. Border Patrol agents. (John Moore)
Biden has accused Republicans of making the crisis worse by refusing to pass a bipartisan Senate border package, which combines additional funding with a mechanism to limit entries when a certain number of encounters has been reached. Conservatives have said that package would not fix the crisis, and have urged instead the passage of a House GOP bill that passed the chamber last year.”
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“The U.S. Senate need to reconsider this bill and those senators who oppose it need to set politics aside and pass it on the merits, not on whether it’s going to benefit one party or another party,” Biden said in February.