Chip Roy: Republicans Should ‘Actually Do Something’ About Border Crisis

During an appearance on Fox News Channel’s “The Faulkner Focus” Wednesday, well-known Republican Rep. Chip Roy (TX) asserted that Republicans ought to “actually do something about” the increase of migrants coming into the U.S. via the southern border “instead of speaking about it.”

“We need to detain or turn away,” said Roy. “That’s what we need to do –change the policies at the border. Republicans have got to get with the program and understand what it means to actually do something about it instead of speaking about it. It is our time to act. You have to use the debt ceiling fight, the spending fight, and actually, we’ll have to do what the Senate didn’t do when Mitch McConnell capitulated in December and took away leverage. Now we have to use the debt ceiling and spending fight in September to demand Biden do the right thing, and HR29 is the right path forward.”

“Detain like current law requires under asylum adjudication,” the congressman continued. “We will allow asylum claims, but you need to be detained. That is what the law requires. This administration is trying to use asylum to end run their actual duty to secure the border of the United States. I’ve had it. We’ll do something about it, and I’ll make my Republican colleagues join us in the effort.

He added, “How many Republicans have you had come on, including some of the Republicans who say that our bill HR29 is harsh? They have come on and said use Title 42 to turn people away. It is consistent with the law. Every American should agree with us and does agree with us. We shouldn’t just allow an open flood of the border. Come here, claim asylum, and adjudicate your claim but we turn away if you are flooding the zone because cartels are making money. If you do that, reclaim control of the border and the most compassionate thing we can do as people of faith. It is unChristian and not right to allow little girls to get sold into the sex trafficking trade and to get raped in safe houses. I’m tired of Republicans using rhetoric that’s not addressing the problem of the people getting abused. That’s what is happening right now.”

Roy is not the only prominent Republican to chastise the GOP’s efforts in addressing the crisis at the southern border; GOP Arizona gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake offered strong criticisms of the party’s performance on the issue in August.

When speaking at a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that month in Dallas, Texas, Lake indicated she is “not a fan” of policies by some Republican governors to bus illegal aliens to other states in the country. She referred to the action as a “cute photo op,” and said the policy instead should be to “bring the buses, drive them to the border, and then send them back the other way because we can’t have everybody coming in.”