Bill Maher says US-Mexico border crisis may be Democrats' 'Achilles' heel' come election time

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Criminal apprehensions rise along southern border

Fox News' Bill Melugin reports from Mission, Texas with an update as President Biden's poll numbers falter on the issue.

"Real Time" host Bill Maher sounded the alarm Friday, railing against Democrats for lacking a plan to address the border crisis. 

During the show's panel discussion, Maher began by citing statistics showing 200,000 border crossings occurred in July, the highest in 21 years, and that "three in 10 of them" were not just from Mexico and Central America but "from around the world."

"What do we do about the border?" Maher asked. "I feel like this is the Democrats' version of health care for the Republicans The issue they don't really address, they don't seem to really have a plan for it. And always is their Achilles' heel come election time.

"What do we do about the border? … [The Democrats] don't seem to really have a plan for it."

— Bill Maher

Bill Maher (HBO)

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"And it was what propelled Trump, in part, to the presidency in 2016, making the case to working-class voters -- many of them White -- that immigration levels need to be lower, both legal and undocumented workers," guest Robert Costa of The Washington Post added. "And you see now in 2022, that's going to be a major issue for Republicans."

Michael Render, aka rapper "Killer Mike," warned Democrats that "Black working-class people" are also "afraid" of immigration because of competition for jobs as well as fear of being "pinned against" Black migrants who arrive in the U.S. 

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Maher then read a quote: "If you open borders -- my God. There's a lot of poverty in this world and you're gonna have people all over the world. And I don't think that's something we can do at this point."

Michael Render, aka rapper "Killer Mike," warned Democrats that "Black working-class people" are also "afraid" of immigration because of competition for jobs as well as fear of being "pinned against" Black migrants who arrive in the U.S.  (Prince Williams/Wireimage)

The host initially attributed the quote to former President Trump but then revealed it was actually from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

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"Canada is much more to the right on immigration. You have to have a skill. That's mostly what it's based on. Ours is mostly based on family. And it's odd because we still can't find enough workers in this country," Maher later said. 

Costa argued that "Congress is broken," pointing to the drought in bipartisan dealmaking to address immigration, which is "now being driven so much by the executive branch, by this overpowering institution of the presidency."