Election year politics brought Democrats their own kind of border surge as they unveiled a brand new partisan “Task Force.”
Years of open border policies, sanctuary cities and unceasing calls for amnesty were seemingly whisked under the carpet Tuesday as a group of 26 House Democrats expressed their concern over “illicit narcotics” and “irregular migration.” In acknowledging that shifting sentiments had placed President Joe Biden’s border crisis ahead of even Bidenomics as their top concern, the members announced the launch of their “Democrats for Border Security Task Force.”
Members gathered outside the U.S. Capitol Tuesday to voice their concerns led by co-chairs Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar and New York Rep. Tom Suozzi.
Tuesday at 8:30 AM EST, Reps. Henry Cuellar and Tom Suozzi will lead a press conference alongside 14 other House Democrats urging Congress to work together on legislation to secure the border. https://t.co/W8HWHvDEUe
— Rep. Henry Cuellar (@RepCuellar) March 11, 2024
Their leadership of the committee fell in line with the left’s effort to shift blame to the GOP for the estimated over 8 million illegal entries under the current administration as Cuellar, considered a moderate Democrat of a border district, had remained vocal on addressing the crisis he’d referred to as “like a mini U.N. down there.”
Likewise, Suozzi’s return to Congress came after a special election to fill the seat of expelled Republican George Santos in a race that HBO’s Bill Maher argued proved, “…Democrats have successfully flipped the immigration issue. Immigration is now the number one issue to voters…And he [Suozzi] just said, look, we have to close the border. He ran to the right!”
According to the press release, the task force intended to “provide a forum for House Democrats to contribute to ongoing discussions regarding border security and collaborate with colleagues.”
They also expressly stated their intent to meet with the Biden administration, local officials and non-governmental organizations which have been the focus of increasingly troubling reports as taxpayer dollars have been shown to be funding not only the shelter and care of illegal aliens, but also instances of facilitating their entry into the country.
“Cities around the country are now feeling the consequences of the humanitarian crisis at the border — something border communities have been dealing with for years,” read a statement from Cuellar. “This crisis is unsustainable, and Democrats need a forum to approach border security policy as the GOP continues to play partisan politics with the issue. The crisis at our border demands solutions today, and it is unfortunate that a bipartisan Senate bill aimed at addressing the situation was killed before we even had a chance to debate its contents.
“I’m proud to lead my fellow Democrats on this Task Force so we can find sensible solutions that will secure the border while respecting the rights of migrants to claim asylum,” he added.
In his own words, Suozzi stated, “America’s southern border and immigration system aren’t working, and it is time to fix it. This task force will advocate for commonsense, bipartisan compromise to achieve much-needed and long-overdue comprehensive immigration reform. Our approach to the immigration and border crisis is unequivocal; we will work with anybody from any wing of any party if they genuinely care about solving this problem.”
“Too many in politics today are focused on pointing out the problem and keep busy figuring out what tricks they have ‘up their sleeves’ to weaponize the border crisis,” the New York lawmaker said, “this task force will ‘roll up our sleeves’ to try to fix it.”
Among the members who joined the task force were two sitting congressmen seeking higher office in border states. Both Texas Rep. Colin Allred and Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego are running for Senate with the former having already earned his party’s nomination to take on incumbent Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) in November.
The co-chairs were split on voting for a resolution Tuesday that summarily denounced Biden’s immigration policies as Cuellar was joined by 13 Democrats in its passage at 226 to 193 with 13 representatives not voting on urging the president to use his authorities to quell the crisis.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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