Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) has signed into law a bill allowing his state to arrest illegal immigrants attempting to cross the border. At the same time, President Biden is willing to agree on border security as the crisis reaches new heights. Representative Mike Waltz (R-FL) appeared on Fox Business's Big Money Show to discuss Gov. Abbott's decision while blasting the Biden Administration for only coming to the negotiating table when his poll numbers were underwater.
Gov. Abbott's bill comes as House Republicans attempt to get the Biden White House and Democrat-controlled Senate to agree on border security before sending money to Ukraine or Israel. Rep. Waltz described how Republicans have "passed a number of laws that the Biden Administration is literally refusing to abide by the law and enforce the law," such as HR 2, the Secure the Border Act passed in May.
As a result, Rep. Waltz continued, "This is going to continue to spiral out of control both from a legal and constitutional standpoint, from a national security standpoint, and a humanitarian standpoint. And this is all because this administration refuses to do what it takes to secure the border."
Host Jackie DeAngelis cited a recent Fox poll showing voters as increasingly concerned about the border, with the number of respondents calling it "an emergency" rising from 34% to 48%. DeAngelis asked Waltz if such worries by voters are driving the Biden Administration's new willingness to negotiate.
"Yeah, sit the progressives aside because they truly have an open borders agenda," Waltz answered, "But commonsense Democrats know this is a problem that has to be addressed." Moreover, he suggested Senate Democrats from red states "may be saying one thing publicly but privately are also wishing this would be addressed politically, now that the polls are so overwhelmingly against it."
A recent Monmouth University poll showed only 26% of respondents approved of Biden's handling of the border. Thus, Waltz concluded, "That is why I think finally, sadly, for political reasons, not for national security or for others, that the White House has finally come to the table."
In October, the Biden Administration authorized the construction of twenty miles of border wall, which Representative Greg Steube (R-FL) blasted as "a political calculation."
