Ernst: Border Situation a ‘Humanitarian Crisis as Well as a National Security Crisis’

Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) on Tuesday reacted to White House press secretary Jen Psaki referring to the situation at the United States’ border with Mexico as a “big problem” rather than a “crisis.”

Ernst told FNC’s “Fox & Friends” that the overwhelming number of immigrants at the border is a “humanitarian crisis as well as a national security crisis.” She noted former President Donald Trump and his administration worked to shore up the border with the wall and laws to hold illegal immigrants in Mexico, but it “is being dismantled by the Biden administration.”

“Believe me — we want to make changes in the immigration system and strengthen our borders. But unfortunately, we don’t have any Democratic support on that,” Ernst lamented. “And that’s where they are trying to capitalize as well. They can’t get it done either without 60 votes, which is why they are trying to strip those protections away and exactly why Biden is running all over Republicans with these executive orders.”

“But what we have to realize is that, Jen Psaki, this is not a big problem,” she added. “This is a humanitarian crisis as well as a national security crisis. We have transnational criminal organizations that are running people over the border. We have had 54 countries sending illegal immigrants over the southern border. This is something that has got to stop, and we’ve got to pay attention to it.”

Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent