Speaker Mike Johnson said President Joe Biden’s border visit to Brownsville, Texas is “Too Little, Too Late,” echoing the sentiments of the Border Patrol Union. Johnson joined Leader Steve Scalise, Whip Tom Emmer, Vice Chair Blake Moore, and Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne Thursday morning to discuss the border crisis and Biden’s photo-op in the “29th ranked hotspot” for border crossings.
“We’re trying to urge the President to use his executive authority to do something meaningful to stop the hemorrhaging at the border, stop the flow, reduce the flow,” said Johnson.
“At the White House, I talked to him about this specifically. I reiterated to him the specific provisions of federal law that give him broad authority to do that, to unwind the extraordinary, unprecedented damage that he has done with his policies. This is a catastrophe of their design.”
Johnson noted that the president has only visited the border twice in three years and accused Biden of avoiding the reality of the current border crisis by choosing to visit the “29th ranked hotspot” instead of a more critical location. Johnson emphasized that the border issue impacts all Americans, regardless of their state of residence.
“If we’re going to take care of America’s needs first, that means two things: It means securing the border. I would repeat it 10 times for emphasis, but you understand what we’re saying here. We have to secure the border. We have to do it. And we’ve got to fund our government,” said Johnson.
The speaker harked back to Moore’s earlier comments regarding the documentation of “64 specific actions” the president has taken to open the borders wider, perpetuating the crisis.
“Everybody knows the President has authority to do something and he won’t, and I cannot understand why he won’t. So, I pleaded with him to do that. Meanwhile, we’re getting the funding government funding piece done as well. I wish we could say the same about that border security,” noted Johnson.
Former President Donald J. Trump visited the southern border at the same time as Biden, going to Eagle Pass. Johnson suggests that “the side-by-side image of these two presidents could not be a greater contrast” as he listed Trump’s actions that bolstered border security.
“One president was building a wall. President Trump, he was cracking down on those trying to cross the border illegally. He was supporting our CBP agents, he used his executive authority to stop illegal immigration,” said Johnson. “The current President, Biden, he’s doing exactly the opposite of all those things. He stopped construction on the wall, he halted deportations, he ceded operational control to the cartels and the traffickers. And he did everything he could to incentivize illegal immigration.”
Through these actions, Johnson thinks Trump showed strength whereas Biden showed weakness. Johnson then shifted to discuss the migrant crime plaguing Americans.
“Last week, Laken Riley, of course, we all know the UGA nursing student, tragically killed by an illegal immigrant from Venezuela who came across that border released to New York under asylum laws. He committed multiple crimes, he wasn’t deported, and he went on to take Laken’s life brutally,” said Johnson.
Besides crime, Johnson hinted that Americans are overdosing from the rise of drugs entering through the southern border.
“And don’t forget every week, 22 kids per week die from drug overdoses, the overwhelming majority of those are from fentanyl poisoning. Fentanyl, as we all know, we repeat here almost weekly, is the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 49,” said Johnson.
“Some say those are just anecdotes. I say it’s the result, the completely foreseeable result of Biden’s open borders and catch and release policy. It has to end.”
