Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) hit back at critics within his own party over their criticism of the border deal he is working on, arguing that they were willfully misinterpreting it.
In an interview on Fox News Sunday with Shannon Bream, Lankford attempted to clarify the provisions of the border deal, saying that claims it would allow 5,000 migrants in daily were untrue. The leaked detail resulted in his censure by his state’s Republican Party.
“Right now these internet rumors is all the people are running on,” Lankford said. “It would be absolutely absurd for me to agree to 5,000 people a day. This bill focuses on getting us to zero illegal crossings a day. There’s no amnesty. It increases the number of border patrol agents, increases asylum officers. It increases detention beds so we can quickly detain and then deport individuals. It ends catch and release. It focuses on additional deportation flights out. It changes our asylum process so that people get a fast asylum screening at a higher standard, and then get returned back to their home country. This is not about letting 5,000 people in a day. This is the most misunderstood section of this proposal.”
After going into further details about the rest of the deal, he hit back at Republicans, arguing their criticisms were motivated by a desire to create a favorable atmosphere for the presidential election.
“[The deal is] focused on actually turning people around on it. It is interesting — Republicans four months ago would not give funding for Ukraine, for Israel, and for our southern border because we demanded changes in policy. So we actually locked arms together and said, ‘We’re not going to give you money for this. We want a change in law.’ And now it’s interesting, a few months later, when we’re finally going to the end, they’re like, ‘Oh, just kidding. I actually don’t want a change in law because it’s a presidential election year.’”
He then cited his oath to the Constitution as pushing his desire to craft an effective deal.
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The Oklahoma Republican Party accused Lankford of violating his oath to the Constitution through his work on the deal, issuing a harsh rebuke against him in response.
“Senator Lankford playing fast and loose with Democrats on our border policy not only disenfranchises legal immigrants seeking citizenship, but it also puts the safety and security of Americans in great danger,” the resolution announcing his denouncement and censure said. “Authorizing several thousand people to invade our borders before any action can be taken is contrary to the oath that Senator Lankford took to the Constitution and therefore outside of the area that he is authorized to negotiate in.”
