On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “OutFront,” Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) stated that “the border has been ignored” by President Joe Biden and he is “listening too much to the immigration activists.” Cuellar also argued that “we’re losing Democrats, they feel that the Democratic Party, that the President is not doing enough, and we’re going to lose a lot of Democrats” and the “only way” to stop the influx at the border is to deport people.
Host Erica Hill asked, “As I understand it, it’s been nearly a year — since January since you had a real substantive conversation with the President about immigration. Do you also feel ignored by the administration?”
Cuellar answered, “I think, for many years, I don’t think they’ve listened to people that live here at the border and understand the border. I think the mayor from Eagle Pass is right. What they’re doing is just processing people. They get people from Eagle Pass, Del Rio, send them over to San Antonio, fly them from San Antonio into the interior of the U.S. We’re good at processing people. But we’ve got to go back to what worked. If you look at the numbers, straightforward for the last 25 years, when somebody goes in front of an immigration judge, 13% will be accepted and the rest will be rejected. So, why are we processing hundreds of thousands of people, where, at the end of the day — which I’m talking about four or five years from now — they’re not going to be accepted? So, I agree, the border has been ignored. They’re listening too much to the immigration activists. The White House and a lot of members of Congress and the Senate listen to the immigration advocates. But who’s listening to the border communities?”
He added, “We’re losing Democrats, people that are frustrated because they’re not seeing what should be done at the border. Look, we want to see law and order at the border and still treat the migrants with respect and dignity. But they’ve got to follow the rules. Right now, they feel that all they have to do is get to the border and then they will be processed sent to the interior and then wait four or five, six years and then have a hearing where 87% will be rejected. And that’s where we’re losing Democrats, they feel that the Democratic Party, that the President is not doing enough, and we’re going to lose a lot of Democrats and it’s because we’re not doing the right thing at the border.”
Cuellar concluded that whether Biden has the willingness to do what needs to be done on the border “depends [on] who he wants to lose. Does he want to lose folks here at the border? Or does he — is he worried about other folks? But, look, keep in mind, Democrats are divided in New York. Democrats are divided in Chicago. There are people that feel there [are] just too many people coming in. Yes, we can bring in water buckets to help the border, but it’s not bringing water buckets. What we’ve got to do is turn off the faucet. And the only way you can do this, with all due respect, is you’ve got to detain people, give them their quick hearing, and if they have to be deported, with all due respect, get them deported. Because, at the end of the day, 87% will be rejected. So, why are we delaying this for four or five years, where a lot of them are not going to show up?”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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