Arizona GOP U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake illustrated just how much she disapproves of the border bill that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema helped negotiate by throwing it in a trash can.
At a Wednesday news conference in Phoenix, Lake said, “We weren’t sure what was going to happen with this bill today. We just got some good news that the Senate, hearing the loud demands and cries of the American people, have looked at this 300 pages of pure garbage and said, ‘we’re not going to let this bill see the light of day.’”
Lake threw the bill in a trash can next to her podium.
In a social media post, she called it the “Invasion Authorization Act.”
Today, I held a Press Conference on the Biden Border Crisis & the Schumer-Sinema “Invasion Authorization Act”
Thank you to Sean Trigla, Josephine Dunn, and Clark and Karen Griffin for joining us & sharing your stories.
I will do everything I can to support our ICE Agents,… pic.twitter.com/apkY3hmfBf
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) February 8, 2024
“Joe Biden, on day 1 of his administration, pulled back an incredibly effective border policy that was working and keeping the American people safe,” Lake said.
“He pulled that back, and basically told the world to come on over,” she continued. “And now we have a crisis on our hands, and we were so hopeful that the folks in the Senate were going to do something good. Give us something good to protect our border.”
The candidate asserted that what the American people want is for fentanyl to stop flooding across the border and for hundreds of thousands of people to stop pouring into the country unvetted every month.
“On day 1 of his administration, Joe Biden pulled back a very effective border policy and basically told the world to come on over,” @KariLake said.
The Senate border bill negotiated by Kyrsten Sinema did not address the problem, Lake argued. pic.twitter.com/p9KR9kosjB
— Randy DeSoto (@RandyDeSoto) February 7, 2024
House Speaker Mike Johnson released a list last month of 64 actions taken by Biden and his administration that have led to the border crisis.
The list includes Biden directing border wall construction to end on his first day on the job and submitting legislation calling for a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
Johnson also noted that Biden lifted “limitations and restrictions against immigration from certain countries associated with terrorism” that Trump had in place.
Additionally, the president rescinded Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy for asylum seekers and placed a 100-day moratorium on deportations.
Further, the Biden administration suspended asylum cooperation agreements meant to stem the flow of migrants from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
Biden also greatly reduced the number eligible for deportation and expanded the parole of illegal immigrants making asylum claims in the U.S. at unprecedented levels.
A key criticism of the border bill among the GOP, including Trump, is that it allows 5,000 illegal immigrants a day in for processing before a mandatory border shutdown would take effect.
Sinema, the former Democrat who is now independent, who helped negotiate the proposed bill, told Phoenix news radio station KTAR on Monday that “5,000 refers to total migrants attempting to cross the border – not the number of individuals allowed into the country.”
One more time for the people in the back (those who tweeted before reading the bill):
5,000 refers to total migrants *attempting* to cross the border – not the number of individuals allowed into the country. pic.twitter.com/E9sO0Uay5L
— Kyrsten Sinema (@kyrstensinema) February 6, 2024
When asked at Wednesday’s news conference by The Western Journal about Sinema’s explanation, Lake noted there are a number of exceptions to the limit.
“Basically, the invasion would still continue and worse yet, we would be legalizing at least 1.8 million [migrant entries], probably more, each year,” she offered.
“The American people don’t want to legalize people who break into our country,” Lake said.
