Jeh Johnson: We Must ‘Get Control’ of Border, ‘200,000 a Month Is a Lot’ – Showing Deportations ‘Can Make a Difference’

On Friday’s “CNN Newsroom,” former DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson stated that immigration enforcement has to be enhanced, and “We have to get control of our borders. 200,000 a month is a lot of people.” Johnson argued that filming people being sent back to their countries of origin so that people in other countries see it can help the problem.

Johnson said, “We have to get control of our borders. 200,000 a month is a lot of people. … We simply have to do something to enhance enforcement. Longer-term, we’ve got to deal with the situation in Central America, as you and I have discussed previously.”

He added that the numbers on the border aren’t necessarily partisan numbers, and “at some point along the way, we do need to send a strong message to the places where they’re coming from that there’s a right way and a wrong way to come to the United States. This is the wrong way, and if you come here, you will be turned back. There are a number of people who are being sent back. When I was in office, I used to literally go to Central America, greet the incoming airplanes that were bringing people back, bring the cameras so that people in those areas could see that we were actually sending people back, and messages like that can make a difference.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett

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