One of the many obstacles to solving the southern border crisis is the lack of cooperation from the Democrats, according to Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kan.). In December, Marshall, who serves on four Senate committees, discussed on “Washington Watch with Tony Perkins” how the president’s party had been focused on Ukraine funding rather than the border, putting progress at a complete standstill. However, as the threat to the southern border continues to swell, more Democrats are changing their stance on the issue.
Sam Joshi, the Democrat mayor of Edison, New Jersey, said migrants are “not welcome” in his town. Although he received backlash, the mayor stood his ground. “They’re illegal, and they belong on the other side of the border. We don’t want them in Edison, period,” he said. And recent polls indicate this opinion is growing — among unlikely groups.
A January 5 poll conducted by YouGov and CBS News revealed 60% of white people, 50% of black people, and 47% of Hispanics oppose settling illegal immigrants locally. And although the Democrats surveyed largely support local housing for the undocumented migrants, 62% of independents oppose it.
Separate data collected by Rasmussen Reports showed 65% of “likely U.S. voters” consider the immigration crisis as an “invasion” with an additional 43% who strongly view that statement as “very accurate.” Only 31% disagree, and another 15% felt that statement was completely inaccurate.
On Monday’s episode of “Washington Watch,” Representative Mark Alford (R-Mo.) shared about his experience when he joined Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and several others on a trip to the southern border last week. “We saw firsthand the chaos,” he said. “Chaos that this administration [and] Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas … will not classify as a crisis.”
Instead, Alford noted, they call it “a challenge.” “This has been languishing for years,” he said, insisting that it’s not accurate to say it is simply a challenge. “Look,” he added, “this isn’t selling used cars. … [It’s] a crisis that [Mayorkas] and President Biden created.” And “with a wink and a nod … almost nine million illegal aliens” have been admitted into the nation.
Notably, most Americans welcome immigrants who enter the country legally. “Legal immigrants are part of the fabric of America,” Alford said. “But this process, this crisis, this chaos, is ripping apart America right now.” And in addition to the madness caused from having nowhere to place them or ways to treat their needs, America’s national security is under severe jeopardy, Alford observed. But he stressed that most Democrats won’t “admit” that “because they want these illegals to eventually become voters” for the Democratic Party who let them in.
Another shocking consequence of the border crisis is the correlation it has to the rise of human trafficking in America, Alford pointed out. During his visit to the border, Alford learned that “$32 million a week is going back to the cartels who are ferrying these people over.” Broken down, these trips can cost “anywhere from $5,000 to $8,000 per trip” per individual, he emphasized. Last week on “Washington Watch with Tony Perkins,” Speaker Johnson noted the money going back to the cartels from the border crisis would total about “$1.6 billion annually.”
Alford continued, “[The migrants] don’t have that money. So, they go to work in the human sex trade” in the U.S. to “pay off their debt to these cartels. One hundred thousand children are unaccounted for in America in this process. That’s despicable.”
On top of the border crisis, “[T]here’s a lot of work yet to be done in getting … [the] spending bill addressed, all the appropriations bills across the finish line, and avoiding a potential shutdown,” guest host and former Congressman Jody Hice chimed in. But Alford mentioned the most recent text for a spending bill had no mention of border security. And as far as he and his conservative colleagues are concerned, no matter how dressed up the spending bill appears, border security is non-negotiable. Or, as he stated, “[Y]ou can put lipstick on a pig, but I’m not kissing this pig.”
Alford concluded that his only priority right now is border security. “That is my number one concern, number two concern, and number three concern right now,” he said. “Whatever it takes to secure the border.”
Sarah Holliday is a reporter at The Washington Stand.
