Scalise: Biden Has the Power to Reverse His Deadly Border Crisis
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) joined Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Conference Vice Chair Blake Moore (R-Utah), and Representative Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas) to discuss President Biden’s open border crisis and its deadly consequences for communities across America. In the wake of Laken Riley’s murder by a previously charged illegal immigrant, Leader Scalise emphasized that it is past time for the Biden administration to take real action to secure the border and protect innocent American lives. Additionally, Leader Scalise highlighted that just as President Biden reversed President Trump’s effective border policies with executive action, he could also use executive action to reverse his dangerous open border policies.
Click here or the image above to view Leader Scalise's full remarks.
On the devastating effects of Biden’s open border crisis:
“As President Biden goes down to the border today for a photo-op, as has been aptly pointed out, he has the authority today to fix this problem that he created. And let's go back to his first day in office: Joe Biden, with a pen, undid the policies that President Trump had in place that were working.
“Remain in Mexico was a negotiated agreement between our two countries. You know, when Joe Biden says, ‘Oh, it's hard because boy, Mexico doesn't want to do it.’ Mexico didn't want to get into the agreement when President Trump was in office, but President Trump made it abundantly clear to the President of Mexico why it was important to happen. And ultimately, it did happen and Remain in Mexico stopped a lot of that illegal flow.
“Ending catch and release was something else President Trump did that worked effectively: Joe Biden reversed that policy on his own – there were no laws passed to do that. And it seemed like he maybe forgot that he had that legal authority for a while. Speaker Johnson actually pointed it out to the President on multiple occasions that he has the legal authority today to fix this problem.
“Now we took our own action in the House. We came together as House Republicans to say ‘we are going to fix this problem and show the country how you can secure the border’ when we passed H.R. 2; a critical piece of legislation that combined all the different elements that we gathered as we worked with Border Patrol agents, and other experts that know what's at stake, to say, ‘let's fix this problem.’ It's a shame that not a single Democrat voted for that bill, because they're not serious about the problem. They don't want to fix the problem.
“But then when you look at what happened just a few days ago with Laken Riley, that really woke the country up to just how bad this is. And sadly, in my backyard in Kenner, Louisiana, as [Whip Emmer] pointed out, a 14-year-old girl was raped by someone here illegally just days ago. This is happening over and over again in communities all across America, and people are rightfully outraged. Not just because it's happening, but because it's preventable; because it was created by Joe Biden. And Joe Biden doesn't want to fix the mess he created.
“So he'll go down to the border. I don't know what he’ll say. He might talk about taking action. Well, Mr. President, we've shown you the steps you can take. I'll give you a question you can ask the White House today if the President daresay that he really wants to secure the border, but won't take the steps that we've been talking about today: Ask President Biden why, today, he’s still got a lawsuit against the governor of Texas who's trying to secure his own state’s border because the President won't do his job.
“So Governor Abbott put up some razor wire to at least give some protection to the state of Texas to stop the flow of illegals coming in. And you would think Joe Biden would applaud him and say, ‘Hey, you know, I know the President's not doing his job but thank you for at least doing something.’ No. President Biden is in court today trying to force Governor Abbott to take that barrier down so that more illegals can come in.
“So clearly, Joe Biden wants more illegals to come into this country. So whatever he says at the border today, he should be asked, ‘Mr. President, are you going to drop your lawsuit against the state of Texas, so that they can at least protect their border, if you won't take the necessary actions to do it?’ We in the House have continued to stand for border security and pass legislation, even without a single Democrat vote, because we care about this problem. And we're going to continue to fight for those families who are sick and tired of an open southern border.”