Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) dismissed border security concerns and instead raised a red flag on what she believes is a “heavy handed” immigration policy by the Biden administration.
Jayapal blasted Republicans’ “obsession” with recent immigration data during an immigration subcommittee hearing Thursday. As a ranking member on the subcommittee, Jayapal called for means to “expand lawful pathways” for immigrants.
“The Biden administration is enforcing immigration laws,” Jayapal said. “In fact, the administration has been so heavy handed in recent months that I have serious concerns about how they are conducting border enforcement.”
The Washington representative made a case for benefits brought by immigrants, citing studies that have “proven that the U.S. economy is driven by immigrants, both documented and undocumented.”
“The idea that our economy is hurt by immigrants in any way is an absurd, factually inaccurate talking point from extreme MAGA Republicans,” Jayapal wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “It is beneficial to them to use immigrants as a political football to rile up their base with hateful rhetoric, all while they sit here and complain that we aren’t getting anything done.”
According to Jayapal, House Republicans are “obsessed” with pushing H.R. 2, which she referred to as “cruel, extreme” and said won’t be effective in “actually solving the problem.” The bill, which has passed the House, would resume construction on the border wall, limit asylum eligibility, and add penalties for overstaying visas, among other policies. It is unlikely to pass the Democratic-led Senate.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Meanwhile, U.S. Customs and Border Protection processed more than 302,000 people at the U.S.-Mexico border in December alone. This is in addition to the over 10 million immigrants who have reportedly entered the country illegally since Biden took office. It is the most recorded in that amount of time of any administration.
New York City in particular has seen an unprecedented influx of immigrants, forcing some students to revert to remote learning in order to allow the immigrants to be housed in city schools. The sanctuary city is committed to preventing any immigrants from living on the streets.
