Sen. Rand Paul said Tuesday that the Trump administration should stop the caravan of more than 1,100 migrants headed toward the U.S. at the border, before they enter the U.S. and possibly find a way to remain in the United States.
“We’re a nation of immigrants, but we should not allow people, particularly 1,100 of them marching up, to basically sort of thumb their nose and say, ‘well, we don’t care what your laws are, we’re coming,'” Paul, R-Ky., said on Fox News. “They should be stopped at the border and sent home.”
Paul was asked about the catch-and-release policy that many say has continued under the Trump administration. Under that policy, illegal immigrants who claim asylum are released until a future court date before being removed, and many simply refuse to show up for their hearings.
Paul said that policy needs to change, and said he thinks the Trump administration has some ability to do that on its own.
“If it requires a change of law, we should do it, but I think there is some leeway within the executive branch that they may well be able to do this if they want to,” he said.
“We should not allow people to come into our country and break the laws,” Paul added.
President Trump has said the caravan of migrants headed toward the U.S. is just the latest reason why the U.S. needs a border wall, and has threatened to withdraw from NAFTA unless Mexico takes steps to stop it. Trump has also called on Congress to pass a tough, standalone border bill to address the problem.
But Paul seemed to downplay the chances of a bill passing. He criticized the Senate for failing to have a real debate about immigration this year, and instead holding four votes in February on bills that all failed.
“They will not vote on anything that they don’t count the votes in advance, and know they will be defeated,” he said.
