Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson warned on Friday that the U.S. government is treating migrants with "kid gloves," amid ongoing criticism of President Joe Biden's handling of the U.S.-Mexico border.
"We have a lawless administration, we have Democrat governance in all of these cities creating lawless cities, we are treating migrants with kid gloves," Johnson said on Fox News' The Faulkner Focus. "Whether it's through our airports, whether it's through our judicial systems. We don't make them adhere to the same standards as we do American citizens."
The senator added: "Biden and his Democratic colleagues in Congress, their open border policy is facilitating the multi-billion dollar business model of some of the most evil people on the plant: the human traffickers, the sex traffickers, the drug traffickers."
Johnson also accused Democrats in Congress of wanting an "open border."
The Context:
Johnson's comments come amid ongoing discussions in Congress on legislation focusing on security for the southern border amid an influx of migrants crossing into the country. The negotiations are currently happening in the U.S. Senate, but members of the GOP-led House have said that the bill is not likely to pass.
The president has faced a wave of criticism in recent weeks for his handling of the border as data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shows a continued increase of illegal migrant encounters at the border.
What We Know:
Biden called on Congress this week to give him authorization and pass legislation to secure the border saying, "Just give me the power. Give me the border patrol. Give me the people. The judges. Give me the people who can stop this and make it work right."
However, many Republican lawmakers have continued their criticism of him, saying that he can use executive authority to respond to issues at the border.
In a statement to Newsweek, a spokesperson for Johnson's office said: "The senator was responding to a question about the migrants who violently attacked and beat two NYPD officers last Saturday—four of the migrants were released from jail without bail and are now on the run. The Biden administration's lawless open border policies are directly responsible for these criminal attacks against law enforcement.
"The senator also referenced alarming reports that TSA is permitting illegal immigrants to board U.S. flights without proper ID which is dangerous and unacceptable."
Views:
While appearing Friday on Fox Business Network's Mornings with Maria Bartiromo, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, questioned Biden's handling of the border and said, "I cannot understand why President Biden would not use his existing executive authority, that he has right now, to stop this. He won't. He knows he has the authority, we've documented it for him...I don't think he's allowed to do it."
He added: "I think it's staff around him and they're pushing him to keep the border open."
Responding to a request for comment, the White House directed Newsweek to a recent operational update from CBP which said, "From May 2023 to December 31, DHS removed or returned a record number of individuals—over 472,000—the vast majority of whom crossed the southwest border, including more than 78,800 individual family members."
The update continued: "The majority of all individuals encountered at the southwest border over the past three years have been removed, returned, or expelled. Total removals and returns since mid-May exceed removals and returns in every full fiscal year since 2015."
What's Next:
As the Senate continues to negotiate a potential border security bill, it is currently unclear how the GOP-led House will respond if it passes.
The House speaker said this week that the the bill is likely "not enough to secure the border."
Update, 2/2/24, 12:01 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with further information and to reflect that Newsweek reached out to Johnson and the White House for comment.
Update, 2/2/24, 12:48 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with further information.
Update, 2/5/24, 7:00 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with a comment from Johnson's office.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more
