Dem lawmaker urges return of Trump-era border policies: 'US does not have operational control of the southern border'

Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez from Washington stated in a recent interview with NPR that there is an "urgency" for the Biden administration to revive Trump-era border policies.

Gluesenkamp Perez and a group of other "self-described centrist Democrats" are demanding that the federal government do more to tackle the crisis at the southern border, the news outlet reported.

During a Monday interview with NPR's A Martinez, Gluesenkamp Perez said that Biden needs to bring back Title 42 and fully utilize the "remain in Mexico" program. She noted that "one of the fundamental mistakes around immigration" has been "to debate whether or not an immigration policy is … motivated by racial animus."

"By the way, I think a lot of them are, but a lot of people in rural and working-class communities like mine, we come from communities that have been hollowed out by fentanyl, and so we're watching our cousins, our neighbors, our coworkers overdose and die, and we are demanding operational control of the southern border. That can't wait for a perfect immigration policy to come along," Gluesenkamp Perez told NPR.

She added that it is not "a question of stemming immigration," claiming that "immigration itself is not the problem."

"The problem is that the U.S. does not have operational control of the southern border, and so a lot of Americans, a lot of American politicians have had this real focus on the very visceral images of the humanitarian crisis of the southern border, but what they're not seeing is what it's like to live in a country that is being run by a cartel," Gluesenkamp Perez continued.

The Washington lawmaker called on Biden "to exercise his existing authority under remain in Mexico." Gluesenkamp Perez also urged Congress to give Biden "back the presidential expulsion authority under Title 42."

She argued that the "unsecured border" impacts American communities and is, therefore, not a partisan issue. Gluesenkamp Perez told NPR that she believes "operational control" of the southern border is "a lot more achievable in the near term," noting immigration policy is "very, very difficult."

"I voted to fund Border Patrol to have a higher staffing level, being able to know who is coming in and out of our country, and it's not just about racial animus. It's about having a predictable, level playing field that reflects the values of our country," she added. "[M]y job is to depoliticize. You've got to take some of the ammunition and the fuel out of it and say, 'what are the constituent parts that we agree on?' Because it becomes a choice, like, do you want the cartels to have control, or do you want our system of laws to have that? Those are the choices at hand."

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