Most vulnerable Democrats won't say border is secure, or if they'd welcome illegal migrants in home districts
Biden has not yet visited the southern border
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Vulnerable Democrats seeking re-election in the Senate and House of Representatives will not say if they think the border is secure or if they would welcome illegal immigrants into their states after over 2 million illegal migrants came through the southern border this fiscal year.
Fox News Digital reached out to 26 elected Democrats who are running in tight re-election campaigns, asking them if they too believed the border was secure and how they would go about illegal immigrants entering their state as border policies remain a top midterm issue. Only one responded.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who was put in charge of handling the border crisis, recently told NBC News that, "The border is secure, but we also have a broken immigration system, in particular, over the last four years before we came in, and it needs to be fixed."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Her comments were quickly questioned by NBC News anchor Chuck Todd: "We're going to have 2 million people cross this border for the first time ever. You're confident this border's secure?" he asked Harris.
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"We have a secure border," Harris stressed, "In that that is a priority for any nation, including ours and our administration," Harris told Todd despite the record number of illegal border crossings.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A record number of illegal immigrants have come over the border. (John Moore)
The only Democrat who responded to Fox News Digital's request was Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, who represents a border district and has long pushed back on what he calls weak border policies of the Biden administration.
"My message remains the same. The border is not secure and we need to be doing more to dissuade migrants from coming to the United States," Cuellar told Fox News Digital in a statement.
Cuellar did not voice support for the tactic of some governors bussing migrants to liberal cities.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I don’t necessarily agree with the politics of using the migrants as pawns, but we need to address the influx. Our whole country is now feeling the effects of open borders," Cuellar said.
On Thursday morning, two busses full of migrants from Eagle Pass, Texas were dropped off near Harris' Naval Observatory residence. Some individuals on the busses told Fox News reporters that they believe the border is in fact open.
Gov. Ron DeSeantis sent a group of illegal immigrants tp at Martha's Vineyard Airport on Wednesday. (Video obtained by Fox News)
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In recent months, Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas., has been sending busses full of illegal migrants to Washington D.C., Chicago, and New York City to relay a message to the Biden administration on their unhinged border policies that are directly affecting his state. Last week, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a public emergency over the busses that continue to arrive in her city.
Texas Department of Public Safety officers found 76 migrants being smuggled inside a trailer in Dimmit County, Texas, Thursday, March 31, 2022. The suspected driver is a Honduran national who was in the U.S. illegally and was arrested for human smuggling, the Texas DPS said. (Texas Department of Public Safety)
On Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom sent a letter to the Department of Justice, asking Merrick Garland if Abbott and Gov. Ron DeSantis sending migrants to different states was illegal. "I urge US DOJ to investigate whether the alleged fraudulent inducement would support charges of kidnapping under relevant state laws," he urged in his letter.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Biden continues to face criticism for the influx of migrants entering the U.S. illegally, but he has not made a single trip to the border since taking on the presidency in 2021.
Fox News' Timothy H.J. Nerozzi and Tyler Olson contributed to this report.