Tennessee Lawmakers Blast Border Bill

Peter D'Abrosca

Tennessee’s elected Republicans are taking to the airwaves to oppose a 370 page spending bill that claims to address the crisis at the U.S. southern border with Mexico.

“It is against the law for an individual to illegally cross into our country — it’s incredible that still needs to be said. We are a nation of law and order, yet the Biden administration has allowed over 8.8 million illegal immigrants to flood our border,” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) on X.

“Meanwhile, at least 85,000 migrant children have gone missing under the watch of Biden’s HHS as cartels and unvetted sponsors take advantage of them,” she said. “That is unacceptable, and allowing even one immigrant to enter our country illegally is unacceptable. I will never vote to make illegal immigration legal, and I will not support this deal.”

“In a nation of laws and borders, the acceptable amount of illegal immigration is zero. Yet by providing billions for plane tickets and hotels to resettle illegal aliens throughout America, this bill is an illegal-immigration magnet,” said Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN).

“Under a President who started and could stop this crisis tomorrow, and whose solution to illegal immigration is to legalize it, any proposal that fails to fully secure the border is unacceptable. I’m a hard no,” he said.

Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) was extremely blunt when President Joe Biden announced that the bill had been put forth.

“Absolutely not,” he said simply.

Chief among the complaints by Republicans is the bill’s provision that only after 5,000 illegal aliens cross the border in a week would the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) be able to close the border.

The bill also boasts a provision giving border crossers who intend to seek asylum the automatic right to a work permit, which Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) says “codifies catch-and-release under so-called ‘alternatives to detention.'”

While providing $60 billion in aid for Ukraine and $14 billion in aid for Israel, the bill only allocates $20 billion to securing the southern border.

Former President Donald Trump also weighed in on his social media platform, Truth Social.

“Only a fool, or a Radical Left Democrat, would vote for this horrendous Border Bill, which only gives Shutdown Authority after 5000 Encounters a day, when we already have the right to CLOSE THE BORDER NOW, which must be done,” Trump said. “It takes the HORRIBLE JOB the Democrats have done on Immigration and the Border, absolves them, and puts it all squarely on the shoulders of Republicans. Don’t be STUPID!!! We need a separate Border and Immigration Bill. It should not be tied to foreign aid in any way, shape, or form! The Democrats broke Immigration and the Border. They should fix it.”

Meanwhile, Gov. Bill Lee (R) visited the Texas border to hold a joint press conference Sunday evening at the southern border with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and other Republican governors.

Texas and supporting states are in a standoff with the Biden administration over 100 miles of razor wire that has been erected at Texas’ border with Mexico, which the federal government has said is illegal and the Supreme Court has ordered to be removed while litigation over the issue is pending.

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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on X / Twitter.
Photo “Migrant Caravan Heads to the US” by Pueblo Sin Fronteras.

 

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