![New York Republican Rep. Mike Lawler got into a heated exchange on Wednesday on CNN over current negotiations for a border security deal. [Screenshot CNN]](https://images.dailycaller.com/image/width=960,height=411,fit=cover,f=auto/https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-31-at-6.36.12-PM-e1706744268504.png "New York Republican Rep. Mike Lawler got into a heated exchange on Wednesday on CNN over current negotiations for a border security deal. [Screenshot CNN]")
New York Republican Rep. Mike Lawler got into a heated exchange on Wednesday on CNN over current negotiations for a border security deal.
The Senate is currently negotiating a bill that would reportedly trigger a “mandatory shutdown” if more than 5,000 migrants are apprehended at the border. Any migrants who arrive after the 5,000-person limit is reached would not be processed for asylum and would be immediately removed. The policy would continue for two weeks until average encounters fall below 3,750 per day.
President Joe Biden said the legislation would give him “the emergency authority to shut down the border until it could get back under control.”
“If that bill were the law today, I’d shut down the border right now and fix it quickly.”
Lawler first acknowledged that no one has seen the details of the deal yet but that his objectives are “secure the border” and “stop this massive influx of not only migrants, but human trafficking, drug trafficking.”
Lawler said there should be negotiation between the House and the Senate to pass an immigration bill and slammed Biden for overseeing record levels of illegal immigration and catch and release policies. (RELATED: NYT Reporter Challenges KJP Over Why Biden’s Border Stance Isn’t Called ‘Xenophobic’ But Trump’s Was)
“Yeah but the Speaker said ‘no’ before – you just said, you haven’t seen the legislation, the Speaker’s describing it and saying it’s dead on arrival, you see —” CNN’s Jake Tapper interjected.
“Well with all due respect, you haven’t seen the bill and interestingly over the last few weeks the media’s been trying to pressure everyone to agree to a deal that hasn’t actually been produced,” Lawler shot back. “Why don’t we see what the final bill is and then lets see if they pass it and then we negotiate.”
“Yeah and Jake by the way, the Speaker said ‘no’ because Donald Trump said ‘no.’ The speaker is Donald Trump’s ‘no’ boy, ok, on this subject,” Florida Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz jumped in.
“Look, I’ll give Republicans credit for a second. They have been highlighting the border for a long time. And we were late — we were late to start addressing it,” Moskowitz continued. “But now that we want to address it, now that we want to lower the amount of fentanyl coming in, now that we want to deal with nondocumented folks, now we want to deal with supposed terrorists potentially coming into the country, now the Republicans controlled by one man are saying, ‘no, no, no, we need this for next 10 months, we need more of it in fact for next 10 months so we can use it in an election.’ Both things are true here. This is why people hate Washington.”
“Eh —” Lawler chimes in before talking over Moskowitz.
“The question is what is in the actual bill — nobody has actually seen the bill —”
“The bill is dead! The bill is dead!” Moskowitz said as the trio began talking over one another.
Tapper had to end the segment but not before Lawler reiterated his stance on tough border measures and the need to stem the flow of migrants.