Immigration reform and the wave of migrants at the border are set to take center stage on Sunday’s weekly news programs.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas), who has been sharply critical of President Obama’s handling of the border crisis, will appear on ABC’s “This Week,” along with Mark Seitz, a Catholic Bishop from El Paso.
{mosads}Perry has threatened a lawsuit against the Obama administration over the issue; Seitz has been a strong advocate for the rights of the immigrants crossing into the country.
NBC’s “Meet the Press” will feature Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, who is on the front lines of dealing with the migrant crisis, and Rep. Raul Labrador, (R-Idaho), who was among the bipartisan group of House lawmakers that failed to reach a deal on comprehensive reform last year.
Obama has tapped Johnson to conduct an internal review of the Department of Homeland Security’s deportation policies in search of ways to make them more “humane” — a report due out at the end of the summer.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will also appear on “Meet the Press.”
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, will appear on “Fox News Sunday.” Issa raised eyebrows last month when he called for the end of Obama’s deferred action program, which allows some younger illegal immigrants to stay in the country temporarily, saying it was to blame for the migrant crisis.
Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) will join him on Fox.
A trio of senators — John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) — will appear on CBS’s “Face the Nation” program. All three have been vocal proponents of the comprehensive immigration reform bill that passed the Senate last summer.
CNN’s “State of the Union” will feature Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), a Blue Dog Democrat who represents a border district, and Alan Long, mayor of Murrieta, Calif., who churned headlines this week when he urged his constituents to fight the government’s move to hold some of the migrants in his town. In response, protesters blocked several busses of migrants, forcing them to another location.