Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton said Monday that none of the migrants that he spoke to at a border detention center said they were victims of persecution but were responding to President Joe Biden’s policies.
“So these people who are claiming they want to come here and seek asylum have no basis under our law to seek asylum,” Cotton told “Fox & Friends.” “Just because your country has some violence, just because it’s poorer than the United States doesn’t give you a basis to come here.”
Cotton was part of a group of Senate Republicans who visited the southern border last week.
“You have to be the victim of systematic persecution for things like your religious views or your political views or your race or sex,” Cotton continued. “Not a single one with whom I spoke claimed that the other night. They all were responding to Joe Biden and to his decisions to allow them in. And if we let them in more will come by the hundreds of thousands.” (RELATED: ‘Horrific Abuse’: Ted Cruz Describes ‘Inhumane And Unconscionable’ Conditions At Border Facilities)
The senator suggested that while Central American countries may not be “Heaven on Earth,” there are parts of the country that are safe to live in and he said that “those countries as a whole have lower murder rates than some American cities like Baltimore.”
Cotton argued that illegal immigrants should not be allowed in the country “in the first place” because that will enable them to stay indefinitely. He claimed that many migrants are not even receiving a notice to appear in court “and if they do appear in court, and they get a notice of removal for deportation, well, Joe Biden has halted deportations.”
He called that process “the ultimate failure of our immigration system” and said it could be solved by telling migrants “do not come. If you do, we will send you home.” (RELATED: ‘We Should Be Stopping This’: Mark Morgan Says Biden Border Policy Is Empowering Cartels, Border Smuggling)
Migrants hold a demonstration demanding clearer United States migration policies, at San Ysidro crossing port in Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico on March 2, 2021. (Photo by GUILLERMO ARIAS/AFP via Getty Images)
During a scrum with reporters on March 21, Biden suggested his administration could bring back the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy.
An aide to former President Donald Trump said that he is considering a trip to the southern border to assess the situation.