House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and other Republicans gathered outside the Capitol on Thursday to urge President Biden to change his border policies.
McCarthy, House Republican Whip Steve Scalise, Republican Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney and others called upon Biden to take responsibility for the emerging crisis at the border, in which 100,000 illegal immigrants have been arrested during recent weeks, Fox8 News reported.
“We’re very concerned about this crisis at the border that has been created specifically by Joe Biden’s policies. President Biden’s border crisis has got to get reversed,” Scalise said.
Rep. Steve Scalise: “We’re calling on President Biden to reverse his policy that’s created this Biden border crisis.” pic.twitter.com/ta1TKJNG5p
— The Hill (@thehill) March 12, 2021
“When you think about the fact that right now, President Biden is implementing policies that are keeping schools closed, yet he sent a message around South and Central America that our border is open. That’s the wrong message, it’s the wrong message for America, and it’s doing a disservice to those people in those caravans who are being abused every single day. It’s got to stop,” Scalise added. (RELATED: Trump Says Southern Border Is ‘Out Of Control’ On Biden’s Watch – White House Shoots Down His Criticism)
Republican Texas Rep. Lance Gooden sent a letter to Biden in early March urging him to acknowledge that there was a crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border and to declare a national emergency there.
Biden’s proposed immigration overhaul would provide around 11 million immigrants in the United States with a pathway to become legal citizens, according to the LA Times. Meanwhile, White House press secretary Jen Psaki has repeatedly tried to avoid characterizing the situation at the southern border as a “crisis.”