CHICAGO — Once a bipartisan issue, immigration and plans surrounding the U.S.-Mexico border have sharply divided U.S. lawmakers along party lines in recent years. Now, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus members have taken to X, formerly known as Twitter, to declare their opposition to GOP border demands.
This week, Rep. Rob Menendez Jr. (D-NJ), took to the social media platform, saying, "We're here to have a real conversation to fix our broken immigration system. But we cannot pay this price at the expense of our American values, not as a nation of immigrants. I am a NO on a supplemental that includes the GOP's extreme immigration policies."
Rep. Rob Menendez Jr. is the son of Sen. Robert Menendez, who was recently indicted on bribery charges and is facing immense public pressure to resign from office.
Shortly after Menendez's post, freshman representative Greg Casar (D-TX) also chimed in, stating that Republican lawmakers are "ridiculous" for blocking an aid bill for Ukraine and Israel over immigration demands.
House & Senate Democrats must NOT throw asylum seekers under the bus. It’s ridiculous that Republicans are demanding we hurt immigrants in exchange for Ukraine $.
— Congressman Greg Casar (@RepCasar) December 6, 2023
I am a NO on a supplemental that includes the GOP’s extreme immigration policies.
What about you, @repdeliaramirez? https://t.co/yREt0IDpzC
Since the initial posts, other lawmakers from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus have taken to X to criticize Senate Republicans for their latest actions surrounding immigration. The list of Congressional Hispanic Caucus members to post on X or who were tagged in a post includes Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL), Rep. Jesús "Chuy" García (D-IL), Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) and Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Nanette Díaz Barragán (D-CA).
The posts are in response to a Senate bill filibustered by Republicans on Wednesday with a 49-51 vote. The bill contained provisions to send aid to Ukraine and Israel but was blocked by GOP lawmakers due to a lack of immigration limits, according to NBC News.
Senate Republicans are looking to take drastic measures to curtail the number of migrants entering the U.S. and have tied their proposals to President Joe Biden's national security package.
"There's a misunderstanding on the part of Sen. Schumer and some of our Democratic friends. This is not a traditional negotiation, where we expect to come up with a bipartisan compromise on the border. This is a price that has to be paid in order to get the supplemental," said Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) in regard to the aid bill.
Since the start of the year, there has been some 2.5 million migrant encounters along the U.S. Mexico border, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
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