Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, slammed Democrats who would not show up for an in-person hearing held by the House Judiciary Committee in Yuma, Arizona, on Thursday regarding the southern border.
Last week, House Democrats openly dismissed the hearing as a stunt and declared they would boycott the event. House Democrats claimed “there was no consultation with Judiciary Democrats, many of whom have already committed to attending other bipartisan congressional delegation trips.”
“Instead of focusing on real solutions to a complicated problem, Judiciary Republicans will once again not hear from any federal government witnesses at their hearing, further cementing this hearing as a brazen act of political grandstanding,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) snapped. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, (D-WA), echoed, “As a result, Democrats, who have been to the border regularly the last few years, will not attend next week’s performative hearing.”
“It’s a shame that not one Democrat member of Congress would join us on this trip, despite having weeks of advance notice,” Jordan said. “It’s disappointing, but it’s not surprising.”
“I would argue it’s not a stunt,” he added. “My guess is our witnesses wouldn’t call it a stunt. What we’ve learned today from them, what we’ve seen last night on the border.”
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) called the Democrats’ decision to rebuff the invitation a “message of disrespect” to Americans.
Dr. Robert Trenschel of the Yuma Regional Medical Center, which has reportedly given over $26 million in uncompensated care to migrants in one year, commented, “It is an unsustainable model to have a hospital like ours bear the entire burden of paying for migrant health care. No business or service can survive ongoing large-scale expense without any offsetting revenue.”
Yuma County Sheriff Leon Wilmot said Border Patrol captures of illegal immigrants have skyrocketed from 40 a day to over 1,000 a day in the last two years. “Our southern border, against all public comfort statements out of Washington, D.C., is in the worst shape I have ever seen in my career,” he testified. “When one looks at Public Safety, National Security, and Humanitarian, our southern border can only be described as the largest crime scene in the country.”
“If this administration refuses to enforce existing laws, why would anyone trust it to enforce future laws?” Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) said. “But this won’t stop us from trying. That’s why we’re here today. But I’m afraid that this is going to get worse until the American people demand that these policies be reversed. … History is screaming this warning at us — countries that cannot or will not enforce their borders simply aren’t around very long.”