Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday that the Biden administration is bungling the border “crisis,” but he also took aim at “a certain cross-section of Big Business” which he said has jumped on board a push for amnesty for current illegal immigrants.
It was a striking shot across the bow for Mr. McConnell, who major corporations usually view as a key ally in Congress.
The Kentucky Republican said the Biden administration’s moves to dump Trump border and migration policies have spurred the new surge of illegal immigrants rushing north, and he disputed President Biden’s insistence that there is no crisis.
“Well if this isn’t a crisis, with unaccompanied kids pouring in and exceeding capacity amid a pandemic, then I’d sure hate to see one,” he said.
He said erasing the Trump policies is only part of the current immigration situation, and pointed to Mr. Biden’s proposal to offer a chance at citizenship to 11 million illegal immigrants already here.
“The far left loves this approach. But so does a certain cross-section of Big Business,” Mr. McConnell said. “There’s a whole lot of cultural power and economic power pushing the liberal vision. As for the best interests of American workers — well, that’s not as trendy a cause in certain circles.”
He did not say which business interests he had in mind, though there’s any number of large business interests that have reacted positively to Mr. Biden’s immigration moves from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to the National Association of Manufacturers.
Mr. McConnell, who has been at odds with former President Donald Trump in recent weeks, praised his administration for “making major headway” in dealing with the border during his four years.
“It took serious policy changes. It took international diplomacy with multiple countries. It took border enforcement,” Mr. McConnell said. “The American people would be better served if the Biden Administration had chosen to build on this progress, instead of rapidly trying to tear it down.”
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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