Democrats 'afraid' to discuss border security, says Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff

Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., asserted that Democrats "are afraid to talk about border security" Tuesday on "Special Report."

"Democrats are afraid to talk about border security, and Republicans are afraid to talk about establishing a path to legal status for the folks who are here and otherwise follow the law who are part of our society," he told host Bret Baier. 

"And until we're willing to acknowledge that, and until we're willing on that basis to pass legislation that secures the border and that addresses the undocumented persons who otherwise follow the law in this country at a time when we have severe workforce shortages, we're going to be re-litigating these same issues year after year after year."

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Ossoff acknowledged a "serious deficiency" in the United States' border security, adding that it is "systemic."

Such border insecurity predates the current Congress or administration, he said. The U.S. has to "be able to know and control who enters and exits" it.

"That's what makes us a country," he noted, saying that the U.S. now lacks that ability.

It is also blighted by another "systemic issue": substandard living conditions in privatized housing for military families.

Service members shared Tuesday that their spouses and children have experienced noteworthy health effects from contaminated homes. The company responsible for such homes did not redress the contamination.

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"This is a systemic issue," Ossoff said. "This is widespread. That's why I launched this investigation to establish the facts of the matter. And what we found is that not only is this continuing systemically across the country, it's continuing even after this company was found by the Department of Justice and convicted of a scheme to defraud the [U.S.] between 2013 and 2019."