Republican strategist Ford O’Connell slammed former Obama advisor Johanna Maska Monday on NewsNation after she called on Democrats to bring more “ideas” forward in order to solve the border crisis.
O’Connell and Maska appeared on “The Hill” panel, along with three others, to discuss the ongoing issues at the southern border. A fellow panelist had agreed with Texas’ recent move to seize a property along the southern border kicking out border patrol agents before NewsNation host Blake Burman questioned the support.
“But just because you don’t like what the federal government is doing, it is still a federal issue, is it not?” Burman asked.
O’Connell jumped into the discussion, calling out President Joe Biden for “actively facilitating illegal immigration,” before Maska cut the GOP strategist off stating there is a need for “ideas” from Democrats in order to solve the issue. Maska additionally slammed the idea of allowing illegal migrants to “starve in Mexico,” saying it was “not a solution.” (RELATED: Border Patrol Agents Quietly Support Texas’ Move To Seize Area Of Border)
“He’s actively facilitating illegal immigration in this country. He did not inherit this crisis. He created this crisis. This blood is on Joe Biden’s hands, not Greg Abbott,” O’Connell stated.
“It’s on the laws of our country, that’s making sure that people have the ability to come to our country and claim asylum. Now, Dean Phillips on our podcast — and I think this is a debate for Democrats — actually talked about figuring out a way that we’re processing asylum in [the] country, making sure that we’ve got large facilities to make sure that people are safe in [this] country,” Maska stated. “There are ideas. We need those ideas. And I’m sorry, but just ‘People, you know, remain in Mexico, let them starve in Mexico.’ That’s not a solution.”
O’Connell continued to argue with the former Obama advisor, calling her out for being “scared” of the “open border crowd.” Maska then yelled at the GOP strategist after he claimed Democrats don’t believe anyone is “illegal.” (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Kamala Harris Hasn’t Called Guatemala In Months To Discuss Immigration, Central American Country Says)
“See that’s the point right there. The Democrats are scared of the open borders crowd. To them no one is illegal, and understand something about Biden’s immigration policy,” O’Connell interjected.
“Human beings are not illegal!” Maska exclaimed.
“It is not humane. It is hurting the migrants themselves. It is hurting American citizens,” O’Connell pushed back.
Maska shouted over O’Connell statement in disbelief stating, “On Martin Luther King Jr. Day,” while shaking her head.
The GOP strategist then said an entire New York City high school was forced to temporarily go virtual in order to make room for roughly 2,000 migrants last week. With over 160,000 migrants in the city, some are now being relocated from Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field to the James Madison High School allegedly due to weather conditions.
“Just yesterday you had kids kicked out of a school in New York City for what? For illegal immigrants to house them. Joe Biden puts America last,” O’Connell stated.
The Texas Department of Public Safety took control of a park located in Eagle Pass, Texas on Jan. 11 after the southern border city had seen surges in illegal immigrants crossing, blocking Border Patrol agents from accessing the area. The Biden administration and Texas have had ongoing legal battles as the state continues to enforce their efforts during the immigration crisis.
Since the incident, a woman and two children recently died while crossing the Rio Grande on Friday, with Border Patrol agents claiming they had allegedly been prevented from responding to the incident, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson stated, according to NBC News. The DHS official claimed while the agents had been made aware of the distressing situation, Texas National Guard troops had allegedly kept the agents from intervening under the direction of Texas Governor Greg Abbott, the outlet reported.