White House blasts GOP for ‘publicity stunt’ as McCarthy prepares border trip
Rachel Schilke
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The White House called House Speaker Kevin McCarthy‘s (R-CA) planned trip to the southern border on Thursday a publicity stunt and urged GOP lawmakers to work with President Joe Biden to address the border crisis.
Immigration has been featured heavily in Republican responses to Biden’s call for immigration reform during the State of the Union address. While Democrats cheered in support of the president’s call for comprehensive immigration reform or funds for more border security, GOP lawmakers jeered and booed Biden, yelling, “It’s your fault,” when Biden discussed the border crisis.
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McCarthy is set to lead a congressional delegation of first-time lawmakers to the border’s Tucson Sector. Reps. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR), Jen Kiggans (R-VA), and Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) are expected to join him.
However, the White House believes the visit is less about seeing immigration up close to come up with a solution, and more about gathering publicity.
“House Republicans should spend less time on partisan publicity stunts and more time working on solutions,” Ian Sams, a White House spokesman, said in a statement via the Hill. “Solutions are what President Biden is focused on, and his is plan working. House Republicans would be wise to join him to work together to strengthen our immigration system and fund border security.”
Republicans have repeatedly hammered Democrats for the influx of immigrants at the southern border, especially as the Biden administration saw record-breaking arrests last year.
However, the White House argues that Biden’s policies are working after measures adopted early this year helped alleviate pressure at the border. On Jan. 5, Biden announced that people from Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Haiti will be denied the opportunity to apply for asylum if they cross the U.S.-Mexico border without authorization. As such, illegal border crossings dropped in January to the lowest level in nearly two years.
Biden’s own visit to the southern border in early January generated resistance from his fellow Democrats, who called the trip a presentation of Republican “obstruction.” On the other side, GOP lawmakers said Biden’s visit was too little, too late, given the large influx of immigrants and illegal drugs into border states.
Sams accused Republicans of opposing funding requests from Biden to strengthen border security, which would be used to send more Border Patrol agents and equipment to the southern border — something Biden touted during the State of the Union.
House Republicans, however, are split on how they want to tackle immigration, whether by starting the process to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas or proceeding with planned legislation focused on the border, such as the Border Safety and Security Act.
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Under the act, border states such as Texas and Arizona would be reimbursed for the billions spent on securing the border. It would also prevent legal asylum claims and allow the Department of Homeland Security to bar the admission or release of noncitizens at any time.
However, the act is gridlocked in Congress after both House and Senate GOP lawmakers split on their support of the bill. Some called the bill “un-American” and a “radical position.”