Democratic Texas lawmaker warns of Biden's 'catastrophic' immigration policy
Gonzalez said Biden's policies would hurt Democrats and the country
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Biden administration’s immigration policies are leading the country toward a "catastrophic" situation, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, told CNN on Monday.
"Well, my concern ... migrants who made it across the border, who -- even past the line of MPPs who are 5,000 folks that have been waiting for two years across the border -- made it across the Rio Grande Valley, were processed and released," Gonzalez said.
Bucking the Democratic Party’s views on immigration, Gonzalez warned that Biden’s immigration policies are going to encourage more people to make dangerous journeys to the U.S.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"If that is the message that we send to Central America and around the world, I can assure you it won't be long before we have tens of thousands of people showing up to our border, and it'll be catastrophic for our party, for our country, for my region, for my district, in the middle of a pandemic, in an area where we've lost over 3,000 people in my small congressional district," Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez represents the 15th Congressional District, a heavily Hispanic area in south Texas.
BIDEN MEETING WITH MEXICO PRESIDENT AMID EFFORTS TO ROLL BACK TRUMP IMMIGRATION POLICIES
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Biden administration has already taken a number of steps to establish its own immigration policy, separating itself from the tough rhetoric of the previous administration.
Biden ordered a pause on funding for the border wall, which was a priority of Donald Trump’s White House to prevent illegal immigration from Mexico.
Further, Biden ended the previous administration’s "Remain in Mexico" policy, which allowed immigration enforcement officials to send non-Mexican asylum seekers to Mexico as they awaited their cases to be arbitrated in the U.S. court system.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Critics of Biden’s immigration plans are worried they could lead to a surge in illegal border crossings. Arrests and detentions at the U.S. Mexico-border rose to nearly 78,000 in January, as reported by The Washington Post, which was more than double the amount recorded from the year prior.
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Gonzalez insisted that the Biden administration make a "better plan" for asylum seekers and immigrants. Furthermore, he said asylum seekers should get processed in their home or a neighboring country.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We shouldn’t have a policy in place that impulses people to make this 2,000-mile trek where cartels and human traffickers are enriching themselves," Gonzalez said.
Fox News' Brittany De Lea contributed to this report.