Dem Rep. Smith: ‘Open Door’ on Asylum Claims Is Hurting My District in Washington

On Thursday’s broadcast of “NewsNation Now,” Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) said that our asylum system is too soft and asylum laws need to be strengthened because the current system of asylum laws makes it “too easy for people to come across the border, claim asylum, and then stay for years.” And “we’ve seen the impact” of an “open door on any and all asylum claims” across the nation, even in his district in Washington.

Smith stated, “[I]t’s too easy for people to come across the border, claim asylum, and then stay for years. Now, I’ve read H.R. 2 … which basically wants to eliminate asylum and deport absolutely everybody in the U.S. who is here in an undocumented status, and I think that’s too far. … I think we need a more thoughtful approach than that, but absolutely, we cannot have a complete open door on any and all asylum claims. And we’ve seen the impact of that across the country, even my district. … There’s a church in my district in the city of Tukwila…that opened its doors to refugees and asylum seekers and they’re completely overwhelmed now, because word got out that this was a place you could go.”

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