Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.) hammered the Biden administration’s border policy on Wednesday, describing meetings with the Mexican government as “too little, too late,” as the focus on immigration grows sharper for the 2024 election cycle.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas were in Mexico City on Wednesday to discuss cross-border migration policy.
“I don’t expect anything to come out of it, we have people on the other side of the aisle who are claiming this is the administration stepping up and looking to do something,” D’Esposito said during an interview on “The Hill on NewsNation.”
“Have they kept their head in the sand for that long that they haven’t realized that this has become an issue plaguing our entire country?” he continued. “Every state is now a border state, every city a border city.”
Republicans have slammed the Biden administration on immigration, painting the issue as a crisis and of central importance to the 2024 election.
Some Democrats have also called on the federal government to bring more attention to the issue. New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.) have feuded with Biden over immigration aid in recent months.
In recent weeks, the Biden administration has negotiated with Senate Republicans on a broad border security deal. Senate Republicans held a Biden foreign aid budget hostage in the meantime, saying that it will not pass until Congress can agree on a border security bill. It’s unclear if the two sides will agree on a final proposal, and negotiations are expected to pick up again after the holiday break.
D’Esposito said it’s too early to say if House Republicans would be on board with any agreement on border security.
“I think we have to see. We have to see what the deal is, what they want to put on the table,” he said.
The Long Island congressman said his border security and immigration reform priorities are about resources.
“I want to see more Customs and Border Patrol agents hired. I want to see investments in the ability to process asylum,” he said. I am not one of those people who say that we should not welcome people into this country. I believe people are deserving of the American dream, but they need to come through the front door.”
“In order for us to welcome people into this country and give people that American dream, we need to be able to process those asylum cases and we need to give our processors every resource that they need to get that done,” he continued.
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