WASHINGTON, D.C. — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) promised Republicans will be taking decisive action to address the ongoing crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border if the GOP is able to take back the House in the upcoming midterms.
Speaking at a roundtable about the southern border with other House Republicans and local stakeholders on Thursday, McCarthy said even though there will still be a Democrat in the White House, should Republicans become the majority, a lot of changes will be made.
"We have co-equal branches. You have to fund the government. You have to go through appropriations. I will promise you this first and foremost, you'll have a change when it comes to the Intel Committee. So you wouldn't have somebody asleep at the switch that wouldn't know what's happening in Afghanistan, wouldn't know what's happening at the border. [Rep.] Adam Schiff will no longer be on that committee," he said.
As Republicans have been calling for all year, McCarthy said the House will quickly move to reimplement the border policies that were enacted under former President Donald Trump's administration.
"We know how to solve this problem because we spent our time doing it...This will be a top priority."
Among the stakeholders, Sheriff Mark Dannels of Cochise County, Arizona, a border county, said the cartels have become more emboldened this year, with cartel members calling his office to say they will kill his deputies and three immigrants have been shot within the past 12 days in southern Arizona.
"This is a mess, it's a hot mess on the border. It's a crisis," Dannels said.
WATCH:
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) October 21, 2021
Sheriff Mark Dannels describes being on the front lines of the border crisis: "In my county, we are getting around 10,000 plus a month at least smuggled by the cartels, which is causing huge issues for us in this county and the Tucson sector." pic.twitter.com/eC05aoq5aL
National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd said agents on the border have seen a noticeable increase in illegal entries whenever Congress debates about amnesty for illegal immigration. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) outlined Democrats’ "Plan C" to include mass amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants in the budget reconciliation bill after prior attempts were shot down by the Senate parliamentarian, according to Fox News.
Brandon Judd, President of the National Border Patrol Council:
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) October 21, 2021
"I can attest to the fact that anytime there is a perceived reward for violating our immigration laws, the number of illegal border crossers increases exponentially." pic.twitter.com/w7k1KEKaN8
"We haven't finalized it yet as we speak, but ‘Plan C’ would probably be a parole option that would give about 8 million of the 11 million undocumented immigrants who meet certain requirements the ability to work lawfully, to have a status that would last five years and would be renewable for another five years, that would protect them from deportation, that would allow them to travel domestically and internationally … that could also potentially gain access to healthcare coverage," Menendez explained, adding they won't take "no" for an answer.