Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said Tuesday that most recent immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border are “trash.”
Speaking with Larry Kudlow on Fox Business’ “Kudlow,” Tuberville went from criticizing Vice President Harris as a presidential candidate to his views on immigration.
“I mean, how can you put someone in charge of a situation where you let 15, possibly even 20 million people into our country? Now, some of these people are good, but most of them are trash. They come from jails and prisons in other countries,” he said.
Tuberville repeated a series of false or misleading claims that have become topics of Republican discussion, including the number of migrants who have come to the United States, Harris’ role in border management and the idea that Latin American countries are sending criminals purposely to the border.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported about 8.4 million encounters with foreign nationals at the southwest border from fiscal year 2021 to fiscal year 2024.
OCongressional Budget Office (CBO) EstimatesThese arrivals, plus immigrants who crossed the border without registration – sometimes referred to as “escapees” – and those who overstayed their visas will result in a net population increase of 7.3 million people between 2021 and 2024.
While Republicans have called Harris Biden the “border czar” since 2021, the vice president’s immigration portfolio focuses on addressing the root causes of emigration in Central America.
Former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson told Steve Doocy on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” Tuesday that responsibility for border management lies with the Department of Homeland Security.
“She is not the border czar. To the extent that there is anyone who is a border czar, she is the secretary of Homeland Security,” Johnson said.
And Tuberville’s claim that “the majority” of migrants come from jails and prisons is a variation on a claim former President Trump has been making for over a year, which also claims that countries like Venezuela are emptying their “asylums”.
The Hill has reached out to Tuberville’s office for comment.
Multiple fact checkers to have discredited Trump’s claims that “millions” of immigrants are criminals or deinstitutionalized mental patients.
And Tuberville’s claim that “most of them are trash” is sure to infuriate immigrant advocates, who associate dehumanizing and violent language with discrimination and violence against immigrants and U.S. citizens who are mistaken for immigrants.
“Senator Tuberville’s dehumanizing language, referring to migrants as trash, encourages abuse instead of empathy and compassion,” said Heidi Altman, director of federal advocacy at the National Immigration Law Center.
“This type of dehumanizing rhetoric has historically led to the unleashing of dangerous, violent and hateful policies against marginalized groups. All leaders of any political persuasion should denounce this as unacceptable in a democratic society.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
