Progressive Democrat has ‘serious concerns’ about Biden’s ‘heavy-handed’ border policies

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said she has “serious concerns” about President Biden’s border policies during a House committee hearing Thursday.

“There is so much fearmongering going on that it is difficult to know exactly where to start. But let me say this first: The Biden administration is enforcing immigration laws. In fact, the administration has been so heavy-handed in recent months that I have serious concerns about how they are conducting border enforcement,” she said during a Judiciary Committee hearing on illegal immigration and the cost of social services.

“This is especially true when it comes to the administration’s regulations that limit access to asylum and the use of expedited processing procedures for families,” she added.

Jayapal said the Biden administration has removed similar numbers of migrants from the U.S. as former President Trump did in a similar time period when he was in office.

“Since the end of Title 42 last year, the Biden administration has removed or returned to Mexico over 400,000 individuals, including over 65,000 individual members of family units, including children,” she said. “This total is nearly equivalent to the number of people removed in all of fiscal year 2019 under Donald Trump, so the idea that the administration is not enforcing the law is ridiculous.”

House Republicans have been attacking the Biden administration for months over its policies on immigration, accusing the administration of not securing the border. House Republicans have also threatened to withhold funding for Ukraine until a deal on the border is reached. 

Jayapal also accused Republicans of using immigration policies as a political talking point. 

“This hearing is supposed to distract the American people from the fact that my Republican colleagues have absolutely no accomplishments to run on,” she said. “Once again, they are trying to scapegoat immigrants by making claims about undocumented immigrants’ use of social services.”

“However, under our laws, they are not eligible for the vast majority of federal benefits. But beyond that, it is absurd to say that immigrants are a drain on the economy,” she added.