When the federal government’s fiscal year ended September 30, U.S. Border Patrol reported it had broken an all-time record for apprehensions of illegal immigrants: 2.1 million in one year.
Among the issues that sent voters to the polls, illegal immigration was routinely named by Republican voters as a main concern.
Donald Trump’s presidential campaign made illegal immigration – “Build the wall!” - a top issue, which resonated with voters in border states. Once in office, President Trump then enacted a get-tough immigration policy that has been rolled back by Joe Biden.
“The first thing you’ll see,” McCarthy told CNN a day before Election Day, “is a bill to control the border first. You’ve got to get control over the border.”
The GOP leader said bringing back Trump’s remain-in-Mexico policy is a top priority as well as stopping the flow of deadly fentanyl across the border.
Reacting to McCarthy’s pledge, Ira Mehlman of Federation for American Immigration Reform says FAIR was listening when the Republican leader spoke.
“And we certainly intend to keep him to his word,” Mehlman tells AFN. “This is something that is urgently needed."
Regarding the flood of illegals, Mehlman says more than 200,000 were stopped by the Border Patrol in October. Another 87,000, he says, were “got-aways” that were never apprehended.
