Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), whose district is on the U.S.-Mexico border, said in an interview over the weekend that the U.S. must put “repercussions” in place to disincentivize illegal aliens from entering the U.S.
Cuellar made the remarks during a Sunday interview on Fox News’ “Fox News Sunday” as the southern border has seen a massive surge in illegal immigration over the last couple of months.
“We need to have repercussions at the border. What does that mean? You’ve got to deport people, and you’ve got to show images of people being deported,” he said. “When was the last time we saw people going the other way instead of just seeing people flow in?”
Cuellar said that he thought former President Donald Trump went too far in trying to disincentivize illegal immigration and that President Joe Biden was “not doing enough.”
“We’ve got find the right balance,” he claimed. “You’ve got to listen to the community leaders.”
He said that migrants should be stopped from ever reaching the U.S. southern border and that getting Mexico’s help would be key in stopping the issue.
“I’ve been saying this for years,” Cuellar said, “we as Democrats and Republicans can continue playing defense on the 1-yard line, or we can play defense on their 20-yard line — and that is getting Mexico to do more.”
WATCH: Texas Democratic Congressman @RepCuellar discusses the state of the southern border and calls on officials in Mexico and Washington, D.C. to do more. #FoxNewsSunday pic.twitter.com/LkmEmV2HOk
— Fox News Sunday (@FoxNewsSunday) September 24, 2023