Rep. Ro Khanna vented against President Biden over working with Republicans on a border deal. Biden is desperate to move the needle on the demands of Republicans that border security get hammered out before they agree to vote on more aid to Ukraine.
Republicans are using their leverage to demand that Biden agree to common sense actions on the southern border. House progressives are angry that progressive voices, they claim, are being shut out of the negotiations process in the Senate. Rep. Ro Khanna (D- Silicon Valley) is angry because he sees Biden’s cooperation for what it is – election year appeasement.
Biden has stalled about as long as he can to work out a deal on immigration and the southern border. The Biden border crisis is so catastrophic at this point that even Democrats are calling Biden out on his dereliction of duty. Voters say that immigration and border security is a top issue. That and Biden’s disastrous poll numbers have caught the attention of Team Biden. Whether he likes it or not, he has to participate now in negotiations between Republicans and Democrats.
“The only reason that we’re even entertaining these negotiations is because there are too many Democratic politicians who’ve seen the poll numbers, who see that we’re down 20 to 25 points on immigration,” Rep. Ro Khanna said Thursday morning outside the U.S Capitol while flanked by dozens of supporters toting signs reading “Save Asylum” and “No more racist border policies.”
“I’ll tell you why we’re down,” continued the California Democrat, who cruised to reelection in 2022 with 71% of the vote. “Because one side is talking about immigrants poisoning the blood of America and the other side is too quiet, too timid to defend the role of immigrants in America.”
I’m always amused when I read that a Democrat says that members of his party are “too timid” to push back on Republicans. What a joke.
Khanna rounded up some progressives and held an event to vent his frustrations. Anger was also turned on former President Trump, because, of course, it was. In order to secure tens of millions of taxpayer dollars for emergency aid to Ukraine, Democrat leaders have given the go-ahead to those involved in the talks. The lead negotiators are Rep. James Lankford (R-OK), Rep. Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ). They have been working with DHS Secretary Mayorkas.
Progressives object to Republican demands that asylum claims be limited, an expansion of expulsion authority, and curbs on Biden’s parole policy that allows illegal immigrants to stay in the United States if they are from a specific country. For example, illegal immigrants from Venezuela fall into the parole program.
Khanna complained that the lawmakers working on the issue have not shared legislation that may have been drafted.
Poor Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL). He is a progressive member who has lost his mind over the issue. He blasted Republicans for their support of H.R.2, the legislation passed to address immigration in the House that is now sitting on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s desk. While preaching about love, he called Republicans bigoted liars.
Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) proposed to remove the Statue of Liberty, the “largest symbol that tells people to come here,” as a metaphor of Republican immigration policy. “If you’re gonna support H.R. 2 and these bigoted measures, the least you can do is not be a damn liar.” pic.twitter.com/7dKtRjzDmM
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) January 17, 2024
Frost is the first member of Generation Z to serve in the United States Congress and this behavior is his brand.
Speaker Johnson said that passing anything less than the measures in H.R.2 is unacceptable.
Rep. Jayapal (D-WA) called the House’s action on immigration “extortion.” She went off the deep end, as usual, in her remarks.
“Republicans are choosing to hold Ukraine funding hostage in exchange for cruel unworkable and permanent policy changes on immigration,” she said.
Jayapal warned Democrats that giving in to GOP hardliners this time could put women and retirees at risk next.
“What will Republicans ask for the next time we need more funding for Ukraine or some other emergency? Perhaps a national abortion ban? Perhaps cuts to Social Security?” the Washington Democrat said — pausing for a beat before really twisting the knife.
“Or is it just immigrants that were always willing to sacrifice?” she added.
Democrats conflate illegal immigrants with legal immigrants. They do it intentionally to confuse the issue. Using scare tactics is what they do. Grandma is going to die
There is no escaping border security and the problems an open border creates. Joe Biden and his administration have their hands full this week as the annual U.S. Conference of Mayors winter meeting is in D.C. Secretary of State Blinken is meeting with Mexican officials in D.C. today on the southern border crisis.