On Tuesday’s “PBS NewsHour,” Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) stated that President Joe Biden hasn’t taken the action he did earlier that day on the border earlier because “he’s been calling on Congress for the last three-and-a-half years to do something on this issue.” But they haven’t.
Co-host Amna Nawaz asked, “President Biden could have taken this action sooner. Why now?”
Kelly answered, “Well, he’s been calling on Congress for the last three-and-a-half years to do something on this issue. We were going to have more Border Patrol agents on the border, funding for that, more CBP agents, judges to adjudicate asylum claims, machines to detect fentanyl, changes in asylum policy. These were all very positive steps. I spent a lot of time on the border in Arizona, and it’s very unfair, especially to the Border Patrol agents, who often lose control of the situation. The President was put in a situation where he had to do this unilaterally, without Congress. But, ultimately, the solution is for Congress to come back together, I hope this can happen soon, it may have to wait until after the election, unfortunately, and have, not only a border security bill, but comprehensive immigration reform that supports our economy, to help us grow our economy, to provide for companies the workforce they need.”
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