by Eric Lendrum
With President Donald Trump paying his first visit to the southern border since leaving the White House, numerous Republicans in Congress and various state offices solidified their support for his agenda of immigration hawkishness, as reported by Politico.
President Trump had been invited to the border by Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R-Texas), and after weeks of preparation, the president finally made his visit on Wednesday. Governor Abbott, in his introduction of the president, pointed out that he had done “more to secure the border than anybody and any president ever has.”
Since Joe Biden took over, many of President Trump’s successful and widely popular immigration policies have been overturned by executive order, including further construction of the border wall, the “Remain in Mexico” policy for illegal aliens seeking asylum, and the reinstatement of the “catch-and-release” policy that allows detained illegals to immediately be released into the country. As a result of this easing of border security, along with Biden’s campaign promises to give taxpayer-funded benefits to illegals, illegal immigration across the border has spiked to a 20-year high, as hundreds of thousands come pouring across the border.
Congressman August Pfluger (R-Texas) predicted that this disastrous approach to immigration will cost Biden and the Democrats in 2022, saying that “I think you’re going to see a surge of voters who are fed up with a lack of security. The Biden Administration is not prioritizing American security. In 2022, what I think we will see is people are tired of a lack of good policy.”
Other House Republicans who were present for President Trump’s border trip include Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Chip Roy (R-Texas), Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), Chris Jacobs (R-N.J.), and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.). Two members of Congress, Boebert and Mary Miller (R-Ill.), even got out of their motorcade vehicles to speak directly to illegal aliens, asking them about their experiences with the assistance of a Spanish translator.
President Trump’s immigration policies already had a positive impact for the GOP last year in several key counties. In 2020, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas) of Texas’s 15th congressional district, a D+7 seat, won by less than 3 percent against Republican challenger Monica de la Cruz-Hernandez. Most notably, President Trump won Zapata County, located near the southernmost tip of the Texas border, by 5 percent over Joe Biden; in the previous election in 2016, Hillary Clinton had won the county by 33 percent, representing a 38-point swing in Trump’s favor.
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Eric Lendrum reports for American Greatness.
Photo “Donald Trump and Greg Abbott” by Greg Abbott.
