Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz got into a near shouting match with a former Democratic state senator Tuesday over the border crisis.
Former New York state senator David Carlucci said President Joe Biden’s “hands are tied” leading him to be unable to take much action on the migrant crisis and called on Congress to pass a bill to raise more funding to deal with the matter. He shifted blame toward House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for launching an impeachment inquiry instead of dealing with the crisis.
“With all due respect to the senator, you’re 110% wrong,” Chaffetz said on Fox News’ “America Reports.” “Enforce the current law, lock down the border, get the rewards and incentives. The state of New York does not need to be a sanctuary state. New York City doesn’t need to be a sanctuary city. They need to enforce those laws. If you come here illegally, you need to be deported. That’s what needs to happen. Don’t tell me that Congress needs to come together and pass some bill. There already are laws on the books and we are as American taxpayers already pouring billions of tax dollars into it.”
“Your state, your city is actually the one who wanted to give these people voting rights when they came here. So, if you created this problem, and now it’s a worldwide problem, it is going to worse, not better,” he continued.
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“Well, all you’re doing is deflecting the blame,” Carlucci pushed back. (RELATED: Ana Navarro Says Illegal Migrants Need To Be ‘Resettled Elsewhere’)
“I’m not deflecting the blame,” Chaffetz interrupted. “Lock down that border! It is not happening.”
“Lock down the border, yes. Trump had four years to do that, waiting to see it done,” Carlucci said.
The former state senator claimed many of the migrants are in the U.S. legally with no working status and called on Congress to grant them permanent status. He then defended sanctuary cities by saying laws granting a right to shelter have been on the books for several years.
“We keep hearing people, ‘Oh just shut the door. Shut your door.’ That’s not gonna work. Like you said, we have millions of people who are here illegally. That’s not something new. What we have now is millions of people, or hundreds of thousands of people who are here legally, but they’re in peril. There’s not documented status because they applied here for asylum and there’s a process that goes along with it. It’s a broken process, one that needs to be fixed and Congress alone can fix it. Yes, they need to fix this process.”
“No,” Chaffetz pushed back.
“We’re gonna keep pointing our fingers, we’re gonna keep deflecting the blame until Congress gets its act together and puts comprehensive immigration reform and a process to deal with the migrants,” Carlucci added. “You call them illegal, many of them are not.”
Chaffetz told Carlucci he “can whine and cry” about sanctuary cities, and reiterated that asylum seekers have to enter the country through a port of entry and claim asylum.
“Yes, but you’re not addressing the fact there are lots of people that are here and even if New York stops—” Carlucci began.
“You gotta lock down that border,” Chaffetz said.
“America is a place everyone wants to come to,” Carlucci continued.
“No,” Chaffetz replied.
“And that’s for good reason. We have to come to the reality—”
“No,” Chaffetz repeated.
“People are going to come here because it’s the best place on the face of the planet,” Carlucci said.
Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams warned the migrant crisis will “destroy New York City.” The city has spent $1.5 billion to house over 100,000 migrants who have entered the city in the past year. City officials have directed funds to build tents and have converted hotels and office buildings to house thousands of migrants, though hundreds have slept on the street as the city has limited space to house them.
Chicago has allocated $51 million to support bused migrants who have arrived to the city in large numbers. City officials have placed migrants in Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and other public areas to provide shelter for the estimated 13,500 migrants who have arrived in the city in the past year, according to Voz Media.