Rosemary Jenks of the Immigration Accountability Project and Dave Brat challenged the effectiveness of current immigration policies and proposals in a segment on the WarRoom, calling attention to the inadequacies of recent housing and immigration reform efforts.
Their conversation exposed significant concerns about the practicality and implications of the government’s proposed solutions, which they framed as insufficient and potentially damaging.
Jenks criticized Vice President Kamala Harris’s proposal for addressing the housing crisis, which suggests the need for three million new housing units. “It’s interesting that she’s saying three million because Elizabeth Warren is saying seven million,” Jenks pointed out, highlighting a stark difference in estimates.
She criticized this approach as a distraction from more pressing issues, arguing that reducing demand for housing would be a more effective strategy. "Instead of giving people $25,000 in tax dollars for a down payment, reduce the demand by deporting all those illegal aliens,” she suggested. Jenks believes that addressing the illegal immigration problem head-on would alleviate the housing crisis more effectively and cost-efficiently.
Jenks further dissected the flaws in recent bipartisan immigration proposals, particularly targeting a bill she described as fundamentally flawed. According to Jenks, the bill negotiated between Senators Lankford, Murphy, Sinema, and Secretary Mayorkas would have perpetuated the crisis by mandating the admission of illegal aliens even under stringent conditions.
"The bill required DHS to admit a minimum of 1,400 illegal aliens daily when the border was shut down, and 5,000 when it was open,” Jenks explained. She condemned the proposal for codifying catch-and-release policies and tying the hands of future administrations attempting to secure the border. "These are crisis-level numbers, not security measures,” she asserted, reflecting her frustration with what she sees as a deliberate undermining of effective immigration control.
The conversation also touched upon Senator Joe Manchin’s defense of such policies, which Jenks and Brat both criticized sharply. Manchin’s comments about a 2014 amnesty bill, which he suggested would have improved the situation, were dismissed by Jenks. "That bill would have amnestied every single illegal alien in the country and doubled legal immigration,” Jenks argued.
She warned that such measures would only exacerbate the issue by encouraging further illegal immigration. "Every time you reward illegal immigration with amnesty, you get more illegal immigration,” she said. Jenks’ and Brat’s commentary highlighted a shared concern that policies favoring leniency toward illegal immigration are misguided and detrimental.
Brat echoed Jenks’ concerns, suggesting that the real issue lies in the Democrats’ approach to immigration reform. "The Democrats’ policies are only going to get more radical,” Brat claimed, emphasizing that the problem is not just about moderate versus extreme positions but about fundamentally flawed policy approaches. He underscored that Jenks’ insights reveal a troubling trend where effective solutions are overshadowed by inadequate and counterproductive proposals.
Jenks and Brat have both grown frustrated with current immigration and housing policies and discussed the need for practical and effective reforms.
As Jenks aptly put it, "If they had four more years, it would be the end.” Their critique serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing debate over how best to address the complex issues of housing and immigration, urging a reevaluation of proposed solutions.
Resources: Immigration Accountability Project
Watch the whole segment with Rosemary Jenks:
Jenks Explains How The Biden-Kamala Administration Rose Home Prices Through Illegal Immigration