On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN International’s “State of the Race,” Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) stated that “while the administration has shut down the Lukeville port of entry to utilize it as a place to process migrants, the number of migrants who are literally crawling through holes in our border fences and walking through the desert to enter Arizona is increasing by the hundreds every single day.” And that the Biden administration “is not using its full tools to address the situation and ensure that Arizona communities are kept safe and secure.”
She also argued that the supplemental bill proposed by Democrats didn’t do anything “other than increase the dollars to manage the flow. So, it’s not a solution.”
Sinema said, “Well, the reality is the Lukeville port of entry is a very important port of entry for Arizona tourism and for commerce. And we’re already seeing the negative effects of this closure. I can’t say that it’s helping the crisis, because, like me, you’ve seen the video and the photos that are coming out of Lukeville every single day. And while the administration has shut down the Lukeville port of entry to utilize it as a place to process migrants, the number of migrants who are literally crawling through holes in our border fences and walking through the desert to enter Arizona is increasing by the hundreds every single day. There are literally thousands of folks lying in the desert, waiting for their opportunity to be interviewed and processed by Border Patrol agents and then released into the interior. To say that this is an unmitigated crisis, Kasie, is to understate the issue. It is overwhelming for Arizona. And, unfortunately, the administration is not using its full tools to address the situation and ensure that Arizona communities are kept safe and secure.”
Host Kasie Hunt then asked, “Do you blame President Biden for this crisis?”
Sinema responded, “The administration absolutely bears responsibility for this. But, I want to be clear, Congress also bears responsibility, because we should be passing legislation that provides more tools and funding and changes in policy so that we can more effectively control our border. The reality is, Kasie, as you have seen, that partisans have long used the issue of border security as a [cudgel] against each other, rather than taking this opportunity, this crisis to actually solve the problem. Now, it won’t surprise you when I tell you that I’m leading the bipartisan effort in the Senate to negotiate a solution to this border crisis with Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), and I’m urging my colleagues every day, with photos and videos from Lukeville, to show them how bad this crisis is and encourage them to compromise.”
Hunt then asked, “So, the national security supplemental that would include this border policy change that you are discussing here failed to advance on the floor of the Senate yesterday in the face of largely Republican opposition to it. They say that the border policy in there does not go far enough to address the crisis. Are Republicans right here?”
Sinema answered, “Well, the package that we voted on yesterday did not involve any border policy, Kasie. It appropriated millions of dollars to help manage the flow of migrants into the country. But, it did not engage in any policy at all to change the situation on the border or to provide the administration with greater tools to actually turn folks away or create an orderly process or really do anything other than increase the dollars to manage the flow. So, it’s not a solution. What’s on the table right now is not a solution to the border crisis.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
