House Speaker Johnson on the Border: ‘It Would Make the Average American Citizen Cry to See What’s Happening Here’

During Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) derided the Biden administration for its lackluster handling of border security at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Johnson accused the Biden administration of rolling out the welcome mat for illegal immigrants by abandoning the policies of President Joe Biden’s predecessor, former President Donald Trump.

“The argument is that there’s only so much a president can do,” CNN host Jake Tapper said. “Even Donald Trump could not seal the border. Even when the remain-in-Mexico policy was in place in 2019, there was still a migrant crisis. There was still a crisis at the border. You might remember all those TV ads that Donald Trump ran in 2018 about the caravan heading into the United States. A lot of people say, this needs to be solved by Congress. You’re the guys that write the laws. You’re the ones in charge of asylum. And, yes, President Trump or President Biden could do X, Y, or Z, but it’s really up to Congress.”

“When President Trump entered the Oval Office, he put in the remain-in-Mexico policy,” Johnson replied. “He ended the catch-and-release policy. He did the fundamental commonsense things that stemmed the flow. It was down to a tiny fraction of what it is right now. Jake — 302,000 encounters at the border in December alone, it’s the highest number in history. And it’s going to continue because they’re showing no inclination at all to change it. They have rolled out the welcome mat.”

“By the way, this is costing American taxpayers billions and billions of dollars to house and feed and educate and give health care to all these illegals,” he continued. “If you’re from one of these poor countries, why would you not make the journey? Why would you not submit your children to that dangerous journey? We don’t know what’s happening to them on the way. This is a humanitarian crisis. We walked through the centers today, Jake. It would make the average American citizen cry to see what’s happening here. And it must stop.”

Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor