The new Speaker of the House that the GOP finally managed to rally around and elect, Mike Johnson, took to the House floor for his first speech and, among other topics, eviscerated the Biden Administration’s border policy and the horrible situation at the border that it has created.
In that speech, now-Speaker Johnson faulted the Biden Administration not just with creating the border “catastrophe” itself, but also for the secondary effects of letting that tidal wave of humanity flow across the border nearly unchecked, such as the fentanyl crisis.
Putting the problem plainly from the beginning, Speaker Johnson said, “We have a catastrophe at our southern border.” Continuing, he added that the American government needs to wake up to the desperate situation and start dealing with everything from the fentanyl crisis to the “broken border.”
Making those points, he said, “The Senate and the White House can no longer ignore the problem. From Texas to New York, wave after wave of illegal migrants are stressing our communities to their breaking points. We know that our streets are being flooded with fentanyl and in all of our communities, children and even adults are dying from it. The status quo is unacceptable. Inaction is unacceptable and we must come together and address the broken border. We have to do it.”
Speaker Mike Johnson: “We have a catastrophe at our southern border…our streets are being flooded with fentanyl…the status quo is unacceptable.”pic.twitter.com/LqHue9c5Aa
— Immigration Reform Law Institute (@IRLILaw) October 25, 2023
Mark Krikorian, director of the Center for Immigration Studies, argued that Johnson could be someone in DC who can rally enough support behind common-sense border policies to start getting things passed and dealing with the situation, saying, “My sense is that immigration critics can trust Johnson to get as much as is realistically achievable when he has to make compromises.”
Continuing, Krikorian added, “Regular people understand that we’re not going to get everything we want. The question is, ‘Is the person negotiating from your perspective and then accepting whatever compromises he has to accept, or is he basically trying to get you to accept things that you don’t want to accept?’ Do you trust the guy who [claims to be] speaking for you?“
Fortunately for those in the GOP distressed by the border situation, Speaker Johnson is no stranger to anti-illegal immigrant sentiments and rhetoric. At an event hosted by the Krikorian Center for Immigration Studies in October 2021, Johnson pointed out many of the deleterious effects of mass migration, such as lawlessness and depressed wages for American workers.
He said, “Their plan will increase unemployment of course. It will reduce the wages of American workers. And of course, it will encourage more bad behavior. It incentivizes people to break our laws. Again, it’s just crazy public policy– I could go on and on.”
He continued, “We have an obligation to fully enforce federal immigration laws. But the Biden administration has effectively ordered the persons who are in charge of this, who have this responsibility on the border, not to do their job.”
He then added, “We have an obligation to fully enforce federal immigration laws. But the Biden administration has effectively ordered the persons who are in charge of this, who have this responsibility on the border, not to do their job.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded Twitter video
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