McClintock: Every Town Is A Border Town

Congressman Tom McClintock serves as the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration. The Congressman recently delivered remarks in opposition to H.R. 2920 (the American Families United Act) at a hearing held by the full House Judiciary Committee.

McClintock was Thursday’s KVML “Newsmaker of the Day”. Here are his words:

“Eighteen months ago, we had achieved operational control of our Southern Border. The border wall was nearing completion. The remain in Mexico policy and enforcement of court-ordered deportations had slowed illegal immigration to a trickle. American workers were finally seeing major wage gains and the gap between rich and poor in this country was finally narrowing.

All that ended on January 20, 2021, when Joe Biden cancelled the Remain in Mexico policy, ordered ICE to stop enforcing court-ordered deportations and cancelled the border wall, leaving construction gaps through which thousands of illegal immigrants pass every day.

Since this administration took office, more than three million foreign nationals have illegally entered the country, with roughly half being trafficked across the country by this administration. While the Border Patrol has been overwhelmed, an additional 900,000 illegal entries evaded authorities – that we know of – and are now in the United States. In other words, in 18 months, this administration has allowed into our country an illegal population larger than the size of Alaska, Vermont and Wyoming combined.

Fentanyl crossing the southern border has exploded. The death rate from fentanyl overdoses more than doubled in a single year. The effect on school and hospital overcrowding, homelessness, depressed wages and opportunities for working families and crime will mean a much more dangerous and impoverished country as a direct result of these policies. Deaths at the border have skyrocketed as more and more illegal migrants are encouraged to make the dangerous journey.

On every trip I’ve made to the Southern Border, Border agents have told me to warn my constituents that the tragedies encountered every day in border communities are being exported across the country and that every town will soon become a border town. And now, I’m hearing this from my constituents.

This committee has blocked every Republican effort to address this national crisis. Every hearing the Democrats have had about this crisis is how to increase it.

The bill now before this committee, H.R. 2920 gives the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security discretion not to enforce U.S. immigration law regarding removal, inadmissibility, or provision of an immigration benefit, if enforcing such law would be a “hardship” for the alien’s U.S. citizen spouse, parent, or child.

Why not just repeal the law in its entirety? That would have the same effect as this bill. The Democrats have already applied existing grants of discretion that are explicitly limited to review on a case-by-case basis to afford sweeping waivers for entire classes of people.

Under this bill, separation of a family member is presumptively considered to constitute hardship and therefore grounds not to enforce the law. Relatives already deported under our loose immigration laws would be admitted under this bill. Who needs immigration courts if their orders are to be invalidated?

So why not just repeal our immigration law and require the admission of all family members regardless of previous deportation orders or determinations of inadmissibility. With very few exceptions, that’s what this bill does anyway. Why not just admit it?

The unprecedented illegal mass migration that is aided, abetted, encouraged and applauded by congressional Democrats and their President has reached historic proportions, and its impact is now being felt by every American. Democratic mayors of Northern cities are even sounding the alarm. But congressional Democrats are deaf to their pleas.

Americans are increasingly aware of the staggering cost of these policies to their safety, their prosperity, and their futures. But beware: these policies will not change until the people responsible for them are turned out of office. The only question is, is there still time?”

The “Newsmaker of the Day” is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML.