A Washington state Democrat who voted for former President Trump came under fire from Republicans last year for saying “no one stays up late” because of the crisis at the southern border.
Rep. Marie Grusenkamp Perez, a Washington Democrat who won her seat in an upset in 2022, appeared on Pod Save America in March and commented on the ongoing border crisis, saying that most Americans insisted there were other things to worry about. .
“Listen, no one stays up at night worrying about the southern border.” she said. “That's not true…People can't sleep at night because they're worried their child is going to relapse, or someone is going to drop out of school, or they're going to lose their home.”
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“They're not…socialism. The most frustrating thing about actually being in Washington, D.C., is it's like we're voting for the horrors of socialism, and it feels like it doesn't matter to people. I think that's the case,” she said. .
Congresswoman-elect Marie Grusenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) reacts after drawing her number in the House of Representatives Office Lottery on Friday, December 2, 2022, at the Cannon House Office Building. ((Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images))
The comments were made in March, months later, before the Section 42 public health order ended. Since then, the number of migrants has soared to an all-time high, with more than 302,000 migrants encountered in December. In all of FY23, there were a record 2.4 million encounters.
The National Republican Congressional Committee pointed to reports that her region is experiencing a recession. 500% increase The fentanyl-related overdoses occur amid a national fentanyl and opioid crisis. Fentanyl is typically manufactured in Mexican pharmaceutical laboratories using precursors from China and transported to the United States via the land border. Republicans have highlighted the large increase in drug seizures and the continued high number of drug deaths, linking it to the ongoing border crisis and the possibility that drugs are slipping through overwhelmed drug agents. Warning that there is sex.over 107,000 overdose deaths According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 75% of cases involved opioids in 2021. The Biden administration has attributed the increase in drug seizures to improved testing and technology at ports of entry, and says more funding is needed. .
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The NRCC also criticized her last year for voting against the Republican border security bill, HR2, which included numerous provisions to limit immigrant releases and strengthen border security.
“Marie Grusenkamp Perez's comments are not only tone-deaf, they reveal her dangerous true beliefs about the border,” NRCC spokesperson Ben Peterson told FOX News Digital. Ta.
“Mr. Grusenkamp Perez is calling out Mr. Biden’s callous disregard for the border crisis as if he isn’t fueling the fentanyl epidemic hitting his district, yet he still votes against border security.” shows how unfit she is.”
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Months after her comments on Pod Save America, Grusenkamp Perez announced in May a comprehensive plan to protect the border, including a review of tools to combat security risks and fentanyl trafficking. He co-sponsored a bipartisan bill that would require DHS to develop a strategy. Her office did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
The criticism comes as negotiations continue in Congress over the White House's request for $14 billion in border funding as part of a total request for $105 billion in additional funding. Republicans are calling for strict limits on asylum and inland releases. Meanwhile, Texas is at odds with the federal government over who has the authority to deal with the continuing crisis.
