NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Kansas U.S. Senator Dr. Roger Marshall told Kansas reporters Monday that he cannot support the immigration bill that is due on the Senate floor now that he has had a chance to read it.
"In America right now, about 10,000 babies are born every day," Marshall said. "We're having 10,000 babies born every day, to think we'd have that equivalent number of people crossing the border every day, it's not right and it's not fair."
The deal on the table would give authority to restrict border crossings if daily average migrant encounters reach 4,000 over a one-week span. In theory, this means over 25,000 people a week could cross with no effective policy change, if spaced out over the week's time. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said that even if the package passes the Senate, which isn't assured, it is 'dead on arrival' in the House. Marshall notes that the border never really closes under this proposal.
"They still are required to process 1,400 people per day," Marshall said. "They have to come through the standard access, the points of entry, but it still requires them to process 1,400 people per day. On top of that, all the unaccompanied children are allowed to come in free, as well. Look, I want to have compassion. I want to do the right thing, but it would be more compassionate to control the border, to secure the border first."
Marshall believes the President has the authority to close the border.
"Joe Biden could secure the border yesterday if he wanted to," Marshall said. "He has the authority to do that. That's never been his goal. His goal is just the opposite. My feeling is this legislation could actually give Joe Biden even more power and more authority to increase the number of people coming across this border already. This is the number one defining issue of this Presidential election. Elections do have consequences."
Marshall also said that the Senate is going to try to give support to Texas from the floor for the work Governor Greg Abbott is doing, but he's not sure Democrats will allow it to happen.
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