This week, Representative Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington, expressed deep reservations about President Joe Biden’s approach to immigration, labeling the administration’s enforcement tactics as overly aggressive.
During a hearing of the immigration subcommittee on Thursday, Jayapal voiced her concerns, stating, “The administration has recently adopted such a forceful stance that I am genuinely troubled by their approach to border enforcement.”
Jayapal pointed out: “Since the termination of Title 42 last year, over 400,000 individuals, including more than 65,000 members of family units with children, have been either deported or sent back to Mexico by the Biden administration. This figure nearly matches the total number of deportations in the entire fiscal year of 2019 under the Trump administration. Thus, the notion that this administration isn’t enforcing immigration laws is simply preposterous.”
Later, Jayapal took to social media, writing: “The claim that immigrants harm our economy in any way is a baseless and factually incorrect narrative propagated by extreme MAGA Republicans. They exploit immigration issues as a tool to incite their base with divisive rhetoric, while simultaneously complaining about legislative inaction.”
Similarly, Representative Ayanna Pressley, a Democrat from Massachusetts, has also recently criticized the Biden administration for contemplating policies akin to Title 42. These policies, she argues, would inflict terror on immigrant families, undermine the asylum system, and deter people from seeking necessary protections. In a joint statement, she urged the Senate to “dismiss any anti-immigrant measures.”
