Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas said Wednesday presumptive President-elect Joseph R. Biden is poised to push an amnesty bill that will lead to a “surge” of immigrants rushing to get into the United States.
“Joe Biden said last night he is going to submit an amnesty bill for 15 million immigrants in the first 100 days,” the Republican said on “Fox & Friends.” “That is probably going to unleash a surge towards our border of people trying to get in before that bill is introduced.”
Mr. Biden said in an interview with NBC on Tuesday that he is committed to sending an immigration bill to the U.S. Senate that includes a pathway to citizenship for “over 11 million undocumented people in America.”
President Trump has made combating illegal immigration a centerpiece of his administration.
Mr. Cotton, who is flirting with a 2024 presidential run, also said Alejandro Mayorkas, Mr. Biden’s nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, is the wrong pick. Mr. Mayorkas worked at DHS under the Obama administration.
The congressman cited a 2015 DHS inspector general’s report that found Mr. Mayorkas “created an appearance of favoritism and special access” over the way he handled the Employment-Based Fifth Preference (EB-5) program, “which gives residency preference to aliens who agree to invest in the U.S. economy to create jobs for U.S. Citizens.”
Mr. Cotton said that amounted to “selling citizenship to well-connected Chinese nationals on behalf of behalf of Democratic Party donors” and said that “is disqualifying to lead the Department of Homeland Security.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.