A border security plan proposed by four Republican legislators was criticized by Rosemary Jenks as more symbolic than substantive.
While touting tough rhetoric, Jenks argued it contains too many loopholes and waivers that will enable mass migration.
“I would say it’s more of a symbolic effort” that offers a political excuse to the Republican legislators who want to fund Ukraine’s war with Russia, Jenks said.
“It’s not going to have an impact [at the border] — there are just too many loopholes and waivers and discretion. No money either [for] all these [migrant] people who would have to be detained so I don’t know where they’re going to be detained.”
For example, border shutdown authority is discretionary without enforcement, and asylum seekers would be exempted and quickly released.
“It doesn’t offer money for anything except foreign countries,” Jenks said.
“They have to [have this because] everybody has said we’re not doing Ukraine aid without border security,” Jenks added.
The bill also allows exceptions on a case-by-case basis and expires the Remain in Mexico policy after one year.
Jenks felt negotiations lacked expertise on the GOP side compared to pro-migration Democrats.
“Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan are all freedom-loving democracies, they are our allies, and we must assist them in protecting their borders just as we must protect our own,” Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick said.
“We simply cannot let partisanship or gridlock prevent us from tackling these challenges,” Rep. Mike Lawler said.
Jenks asserted the bill fails to address the crisis and will result in large migrant releases, though it does avoid codifying catch-and-release policies.
Jenks argued more comprehensive reforms are needed to curb extraction migration policies that have hurt American workers and communities through expanded low-wage immigration.
The House bill “I have to say… is better than the McConnell bill,” Jenks said.
“That being said, it’s not going to fix the problem — it’s wholly inadequate to the crisis because it’s got all kinds of waivers,” she said.
For example, “the [border] shutdown authority is discretionary with no means of enforcement whatsoever, so Mayorkas can just say, Yeah, I’m not going to do that,” she said.
“I’ve said this many times to [GOP] members of Congress that they hire God-fearing patriotic college kids to handle their immigration portfolio, but the Democrats hire immigration attorneys. The Democrats’ staff runs circles around the Republican staff, every single time in every single immigration negotiation I’ve ever seen, from the 2006 and 2007 amnesties to the Gang of Eight, to the McConnell thing, to this one. It’s always the same,” Jenks said.
“I’m sure that Fitzpatrick and Bacon looked at this and said, ‘Oh, this looks really tough,’” she added.
Most Popular:
FBI Informant Who Criticized Biden Gets Bad News
Drag Queen Principal Learns His Fate Amid Controversy
