GOP senator Markwayne Mullin supports border deal and claims 'doing nothing' not in America's interest
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Oklahoma Sen Markwayne Mullin joined co-host Pete Hegseth to discuss the upcoming bipartisan border bill on the February 3 episode of 'Fox & Friends.'
Mullin is the lead liaison between the House and the Senate and has to coordinate between them to see the bill, that Hegseth feels is "dead on arrival," gets passed through.
Markwayne Mullin says Biden admin 'believes in open border'
Acknowledging that his job is tough, Mullin reasoned that both House and Senate Republicans prefer HR2 bills, which are "the golden standard."
Introduced in the House in 2023, the HR2 bill addresses issues regarding immigration and border security, including by imposing limits to asylum eligibility. It requires DHS to create an electronic employment eligibility confirmation system modeled after the E-Verify system and requires all employers to use the system, according to the Congress website.
"We would love to have HR2, but it is just not possible when you're dealing with an administration that believes in open border," he stated.
"But we also know there's a national security risk, so we kind of have to lower the bar a little bit," he continued. "I hate to say that, but we don't own the White House and we definitely don't lead the Senate either, that's Chuck Schumer. So doing nothing isn't really in the best interest."
GOP senator Markwayne Mullin breaks down the border deal
The Oklahoma Senator went on to explain the three-fold objective of the new border deal.
The first objective was to "stem the flow of illegal immigrants," he shared. "We can't take it to zero. We could if President Trump was in office, but (Biden) has had a wide-open border since he has been in office. He has reversed all executive orders that Trump had in place... and says now that if we get the bill passed, he will shut the border down."
"Two, we have to change the asylum process," said Mullin. "President Trump tried to change the asylum process. They took him to court and the liberal court kicked it out. Well, we're going to change the asylum process through this bill."
"Three, we have to change the parole process. Right now, 85 per cent of the 8.8 million people (who have) crossed the border and claimed asylum and got parole, those (people) were automatically paroled into the United States without any background check. This bill will change that," he stated. Migrants would have to prove why they they need parole and could not get it in Mexico or Canada, based on their travel history.
The time taken for deportation hearing will also be shortened from years to days, added Mullin.
He further urged members of Congress to take their time and read the bill with an open mind before making any decision on whether or not they would vote for it.
