Senator Rick Scott right. In this our lawless southern border poses a huge threat. The Schumer, McConnell Biden deal still allows criminals and terrorists to continue to pour into our country. We need actual border security, Senator Scott, I'm pleased to say, joins us now for more. Senator, I'm just going to start the conversation by sharing two quotes with you, and you can help me understand who's got this right. The first quote is from House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who says,
here's what people pushing this deal aren't telling you. It accepts five thousand illegal immigrants a day. The bill, as you know, sir, because you've read it, specifically, refers to five thousand encounters. Your colleague in the Senate, Senator Langford said this to Fox News. If you get to five thousand, which we have been there every single day except for seven in the last four months, seven days in the last four months, that it completely closes the border down.
It deports everyone. Senator, why are Republicans struggling to get on the same page on this bill.
The problem is this is not a border security bill. It's an immigration bill. When you go back home to my state of Florida. What people want is they wanted porter to be secured. A Chris Murphy, who is the Democrat leading the negotiations on the Democrat side, said, the border will never be closed. Uh So when when even when you hit that five thousand, all that has happened is all those individuals get shipped to a uh you know, a port of entry and they can still come through.
So it was it's it's not unfortunately, it's not a border security bill. Uh, it's an immigration bill. And that's why it's not going to happen. It was unfortunately just you know, you know, they did it behind closed doors. They didn't ask for people's input.
Uh.
They sprung it on us Sunday night. And it's not something that you know, we want to do. We want to we don't want an immigration bill. We want to a border security bill. And that's why that's why it's not going to pass today.
Senator, how are you left behind in negotiations?
Though?
In December in the Wall Street Journal, you along with your colleagues like Mike Lee, were quoted as saying one of the proposals is that this would reduce illegal crossings and that number of legal crossings reduced by about twenty thousand from the prior month's level. That's what you were looking for, those reductions of those crossings. And you said, quote, we've been told that that's part of the conversation. So
you've known about some of these conversations from December. Why are you shocked now, Oh.
I'm not shocked. It was clear.
You know, Mitch McConnell made the decision that we would not hold a lawless Biden administration to secure the border. The only week we could do that is say we will not give you Crain aid on a monthly basis unless the number of people crossing the border and staying here comes down.
So I've always had a concern about the bill.
There's a lot of other concerns about the bill, but my biggest concern never was addressed. We have a lawless administration that could secure the border today. Trump's secure with the existing law, and we don't have There's nothing in here that would make Biden secure the border today. And then Chris Murphy said he was clear the border will never be closed.
Does this bill what you see and you've read through the three hundred pages, wee can any immigration law we currently have.
Well, I think a lot.
Of concerns are is that it will prevent a Republican president that does want to secure the border because it will have some limitations on their ability to actually close the border, which the prisident has ability to close the border today. So there's a lot of concern that through the court system that you know, people that want to completely open border, like Joe Biden does, will be able to go to the courts and forever keep the border open.
As Chris Murphy said, the border will never be closed. That was their plan. So here's the problem. James Langfort is a good person, tried hard.
Nos the issue, but he was negotiating with somebody that didn't want to have a secure border, and he was hamstrung by Mitch mcconough who said, we're not going to tie by his hands have forced him.
To secure the border today.
That's what Sourians want. They want a secure border today.
Biden says that he would close the border if this bill became law, So why not put in his hands and see if he does it.
He could do it today. He hasn't done it today. I mean he's the day he came into office. He's you know, is implemented Catcher release. He stopped remain in Mexico, he stopped building the wall, he sold off this steel.
So, I mean, look, Biden doesn't want to have a secureboorder.
You're going to trust somebody that has shown you through their actions for three years they don't want to have a secureboorder. He doesn't need another bill. I mean, the only way this is going to happen is we get a president that wants to secure the border. He could do it today.
He's made the decision, Biden, to not have a secure border.
Senator, I have to say, just taking a step back, there's just a lot of feeling that there's just utter dysfunction and nobody wants to negotiate with anyone because it's the political season and it makes Biden maybe have a win rather than the former President Trump who's running on this issue. How push back against that when it seems like some people are rejecting the bill before even reading it, Well, I.
Mean I told them my concern was we've got to we've got to make Biden enforce the law. And that was my concern all along. There's there's a lot of provisions in here that make this an immigration bill. But look what you're we should be doing up here is we should be having robust conversations on the Senate floor. All everybody there, bring your ideas. But that's not how this is done. What we've been doing. I've been up here five years. Sher McConnell negotiated a deal behind the scenes.
They showed its last minute and expected vote. They gave us this bill Sunday night, we've not seen intects before and expected us vote on it today. That's not the way this should happen.
Centator I understond. You don't like the way this process went done. But when you look at say, say the Border Patrol Union, they endorse former President Trump, they say this is better than nothing. You look at the numbers in December, more than three hundred thousand migrants along the southwest border. That's nearly ten thousand a day. I've read the tax and it says if this deal is in place in December, five thousand encounters the border automatically shuts
at that. If you look at those numbers at minimum, then this would be cutting December in half. How is that not better than what you have today?
Well, it doesn't say the border closes.
What it says is you have to go to a port of entry, so the border does not close. So here, why aren't we Why don't we go back and secure the border with the existing law. I mean, we have a lawless president. It doesn't matter what bill we pass, he's not going to enforce it. So why doesn't you know, Joe Biden do his job. He's the President of United States.
His responsibility to secure the border. We've got seventy thousand people dying a drug overdose, We've got terrorists, we've got human traffickers, we got criminals come across the border.
Why does he do his job?
That's what That's what the expectation should be, is we have a president that does the job.
You have a democratic president, you have a Democratic held Senate. The Republicans control one of one branch of government. Why is this not an incremental step that you can build on. It is a divided government. You're going to need Senator Chris Murphy to bring his Democrats along.
Well, I mean, why do we have a secure border? I mean, we have a lawless administration. I'm not going to support I'm not going to say, oh, you know, I'm okay, with fifty terrorists coming into my neighborhood, I know I don't want that. I think we ought to have a secure border. I don't want drugs coming to my neighborhood. I don't want I don't want terrorists. I don't want human traffickers. I don't want any of this stuff in my neighborhood. We should expect our government to
do their job secure the border. This will not secure the border. We don't have a person that's willing to do it. There's nothing in this bill that's going to force him to secure the border.
President Trump has been very public that he does not want to see this bill go through. Do you speak to him regularly?
I do?
And is your sense that this is the top issue he wants to run on, and that is why it's become politicized in Washington. D see, he's.
Not talked to me about it. He's not asking he's not asked me not to support it. I've been clear all along, I want a secure border. Uh, We've we've been We've been having the same conversation for months. I will support a bill that has a secure border, all right, but we have to remember the only way that's going to happen. Is we have something in here that forces Biden to do his job.
He could do he could.
Secure the border today he is elected not to secure the border.
Senator is fantastic a couch overvisa. I have no doubt we'll be continuing this conversation in the weeks and months to come. Thanks for joining us today. Senator Rick Sculpte on the latest situation down at Washington, d C.