Skip to Content

In the News

Emmer: The Biden administration has completely opened the southern border

WASHINGTON – Majority Whip Tom Emmer joined Fox News’ Cavuto Live on Saturday to discuss the Senate’s potential border package and the Biden administration's self-inflicted border crisis.


Click here or above to watch the full interview.


Whip Emmer on the Biden administration's open-border policies: 

“You’ve got an administration now that, since they took office more than three years ago, they have completely opened the southern border through some 64 executive actions. They effectively undid all of the work that had been done by the previous administration to seal the border. You’ve got a record number 300,000 – over 300,000 – came across the border in December, Neil. Think about this for a second. They waited almost a month to release that number, and they dumped it on a Friday night. At the same time, they’re putting out what I would suggest is a very disingenuous statement from the White House about things that nobody has actually had the opportunity to study and verify.”

Whip Emmer on deporting illegal immigrants as a solution to the border crisis: 

“Kind of hard to do that when this administration doesn’t even know where they are because of ‘catch and release,' which should also be removed. They don’t know, they’ve released 40 percent of those that have come across the border. You’re talking about 8.3 million since these guys took over – the Biden administration – plus another 1.7 known gotaways. Those are the ones we know about.”

Whip Emmer on a reported provision in the Senate border deal that would mandate a Title 42-type authority if migrant encounters exceeded 5,000 per day:

“Jeh Johnson, who ran the Department of Homeland Security under Obama, once said, ‘A thousand coming across our southern border is a crisis,’ Neil. How can you suddenly acknowledge, and why would any member of Congress – Republican or Democrat – suggest now that it’s okay to have 5,000 or less coming across your southern border?”

Whip Emmer on whether or not he agrees with Speaker Johnson that the Senate border deal is unacceptable as it stands:

“Well, I have a different job than the Speaker. And what I would tell you is, if you’re giving the president additional parole authority to admit up to 50,000 more people a year, if you’re doing the 5,000-plus-one on the border over a certain period of time and giving them discretion, if you’re not ending ‘catch and release,’ if you’re not restoring ‘Remain in Mexico,’ I’m going to have a very difficult time getting the votes that are necessary, even if it comes to the floor, to pass it.”

###