Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) recently blasted the Biden administration, saying that the U.S. must put “repercussions” in place to disincentivize illegal immigrants from continuing to pour across the southern border.
Cuellar made the remarks during an interview with Fox News as the U.S. faces an epidemic of illegal immigration under the Biden administration, as reported by the Daily Wire.
WATCH: Texas Democratic Congressman @RepCuellar discusses the state of the southern border and calls on officials in Mexico and Washington, D.C. to do more. #FoxNewsSunday pic.twitter.com/LkmEmV2HOk
— Fox News Sunday (@FoxNewsSunday) September 24, 2023
“We need to have repercussions at the border. What does that mean? You’ve got to deport people, and you’ve got to show images of people being deported,” he began. “When was the last time we saw people going the other way instead of just seeing people flow in?”
Although Cuellar did not defend former President Donald Trump’s policies on immigration, calling them “radical,” he did say that Biden was “not doing enough” to secure the southern border.
“We’ve got find the right balance,” he claimed. “You’ve got to listen to the community leaders.”
Cuellar added that illegal immigrants should be prevented from ever reaching the southern border, saying that Mexico’s help would be essential toward stopping the issue.
“I’ve been saying this for years,” Cuellar said. “We as Democrats and Republicans can continue playing defense on the 1-yard line, or we can play defense on their 20-yard line — and that is getting Mexico to do more.”
Cuellar’s comments come amid the criticism of multiple Democrats, who argue that the Biden administration is to blame for the surge in illegal immigration at the southern border.
Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently wrote an op-ed for Newsweek, where he issued a scathing rebuke of the Biden administration’s record on illegal immigration.
Kennedy ripped President Joe Biden for “refusing to secure our southern border” leading to “endless floods of migrants pouring through an open border” and “impossible burdens” for American cities, such as New York City.
“Cities across the U.S. are experiencing crises in social services and severe budget shortfalls because of the unprecedented migrant influx. Chicago is facing a $538 million budget shortfall for 2024 with more than a third of that shortfall resulting from the migrant crisis, according to the Chicago Sun-Times,” Kennedy wrote.
Like Kennedy, the mayor of Eagle Pass, Texas, Rolando Salinas expressed disappointment with the Biden administration’s handling of illegal immigration, according to The Christian Post.
Salinas recently told CNN anchor Erin Burnett that Biden bears responsibility for the immigration crisis his town is facing.
“In the last couple of days, we’ve had an excess of 5,000 people cross from Piedras Negras, Mexico, into Eagle Pass, Texas,” Salinas told CNN, adding that Biden is to blame for the crisis his town is facing. “I’ll be honest with you, I believe 100 percent he does [bear some responsibility].”
