Representative Henry Cuellar, a Democrat from Texas whose congressional district is located on the U.S.-Mexico border, gave a blistering critique of the Biden administration during an interview on Fox News Sunday with Shannon Bream over the weekend.
The congressman blamed the administration for the unprecedented illegal immigration crisis happening on the southern border, just as Title 42 is set to expire and make the situation even worse.
“Surely, we are seeing people coming in, the border is open,” Cuellar began. “There are some policies that in my opinion should have been implemented some years ago.” He suggested that the simplest policy in place should be “repercussions” for individuals who fail to comply with the border law.
Cuellar explained, “And if they have to be returned, they have to be returned quickly. You got to have some repercussions because if you don’t, people are going to see the border as a speed bump, and they’ll start coming in at this time. So we’ve got to have repercussions at the border.”
Cuellar also expressed concern about the pull factors established by the administration, causing illegal aliens from “over 60 countries” to come into America and turn the Southern border into “a mini U.N.,” he said. The Border Patrol had already “encountered” more than 4.3 million people within the last two years, and over 1.2 million people were in the country this fiscal year, he added.
WATCH: @RepCuellar responds to the deadly shooting at an outlet mall in Allen, TX and the scene at the border as Title 42 is set to expire this week. #FOXNewsSunday pic.twitter.com/E77XChXAm5
— Fox News Sunday (@FoxNewsSunday) May 7, 2023
Regarding the public’s perception of the issue, the congressman reminded Bream that Americans hadn’t seen any images of individuals being turned away from the border and to return to their home country. This had caused the only image to be seen by Americans was of people coming into the country. “Right now, the only image that we see is people coming in. No images of people going back. So, yes, the American public is frustrated,” he said.
