President Joe Biden’s immigration policies since his taking office have resulted in a record surge of migrants crossing the U.S. border with Mexico, and “emergency shelters” to house them are popping up across the country.
Now even Democrats are questioning Biden’s policies, including his pivot from former President Donald Trump’s policies that caused illegal immigration to slow to a trickle and kept asylum seekers in Mexico while they waited for their cases to be litigated.
Amanda Elise Salas is a Democratic political operative in Texas’s Rio Grande Valley who worked for Biden’s presidential campaign.
“I have chosen to not allow myself to get into my feelings about how there are still these detention centers being popped up by this administration because it makes me very, very angry,” Salas said in an Associated Press report.
Salas said that she understands ‘that change comes in increments’ and that Democrats don’t have enough congressional seats to pass Biden’s immigration agenda, AP reported.
The Washington Examiner reported on two members of Congress who have their doubts:
Sen. Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat, told the Washington Examiner that he is favorable to the “Remain in Mexico” policy.
“Working with the folks south of the border to make sure folks don’t come is smart policy,” Tester said.
Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, told the Washington Examiner:
“The Trump administration did a number of things on the immigration side that I really disagree with. However, I don’t think the Biden administration should just wholesale say, ‘We’re getting rid of all of it.’ I think we analyze pieces of it and see. We need a comprehensive approach.
“Texas Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar called out President Biden for not visiting the US-Mexico border himself and said a recent visit from a White House delegation was insufficient,” the New York Post reported.
“Any president should come down [and] really spend time with border communities. You know, the president sent a delegation and a bunch of folks from the White House,” the nine-term Congressman told Fox News. “They didn’t talk to anybody, not even members of Congress down here.”
Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX) told Axios that McAllen, Texas, is still waiting for federal reimbursements from the expenses incurred by border communities in 2019 because of illegal immigration.
“Our cities, our municipalities are spread thin,” Gonzalez said.
Reuters reported on some of those Democrats, including Trump critic Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona):
Representative Raul Grijalva of Arizona, a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said he has heard complaints from moderate Democrats in Congress who worry that a liberal message on immigration will turn off voters.
They want Democrats to emphasize “security and enforcement,” Grijalva said, adding a balance was needed between “deportation and humane treatment.”
The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) noted the increasing criticism in an email distributed to the media.
“The nation’s border and humanitarian crisis has grown so out of control that an increasing number of congressional Democrats are now explicitly calling out the Biden administration, with some even calling to reimplement Trump administration immigration policies,” the email said.
“The growing frustrations among congressional Democrats reveal that the border crisis is no longer a partisan issue and requires immediate attention from the Biden administration,” the email said. “At the very least, the administration would be wise to listen to members of its own party.”
Follow Penny Starr on Twitter or send news tips to pstarr@breitbart.com
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