Cotton: Trump, Congress need to reduce legal and illegal immigration

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Cotton: Almost every Republican in Congress on Trump's side

Sen. Tom Cotton gives 'Tucker Carlson Tonight' insight on how Congress will work with President-elect Trump #Tucker

Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton told Fox News' Tucker Carlson Monday that President-elect Donald Trump and the next Congress must work to reduce legal immigration as well as illegal immigration.

"People who work on their feet and work with their hands in this country, they haven’t seen a pay raise in a long time," Cotton said on the premiere of "Tucker Carlson Tonight," "and part of that is because legal immigration has been at such high levels and it’s driven down wages and taken a lot of jobs. That’s why Donald Trump ran pretty well with Hispanics compared to some past Republicans as well."

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Trump told CBS' "60 Minutes" over the weekend that his first immigration-related priority was securing the southern border, followed by the deportation of criminal illegal aliens.

"I think Donald Trump has got the right approach to immigration," Cotton said. "You heard that some on ’60 Minutes’ last night and that’s one reason why he appealed to so many working voters all across the country."

Cotton also played down the possibility of tension between Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., saying the two agreed on most issues.

"On those small areas where we might have some disagreements, we can work those out in private, between ourselves," he said.

"But, immediately, the most important thing we can do to get all of our government back on stable financial footing, to reduce our deficits and get the debt under control," Cotton added, "is to have a healthy growing economy, which we haven’t had under the Obama administration [and] I believe we will have now."