Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, said Tuesday that most of the recent migrants who have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border are “trash.”
Speaking to Larry Kudlow on Fox Business’ “Kudlow,” Tuberville transitioned from his criticism of Harris as a presidential candidate to his own views on immigration.
“I mean, how can you have someone in charge of 15 million people, maybe 20 million people coming into our country? Some of them are good, but the majority are scum. They’re coming from prisons and jails in other countries,” he said.
Tuberville repeated a series of false or misleading claims that have become Republican talking points, including about the number of migrants coming to the U.S., Harris’ role in border control and the idea that Latin American countries are intentionally sending criminals to the border.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported approximately 8.4 million encounters with foreign nationals at the Southwest border from fiscal year 2021 through 2024.
of Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates These arrivals, plus migrants who crossed the border without registering (sometimes known as “gotaways”) and visa overstayers, would add up to an increase of 7.3 million people between 2021 and 2024.
Republicans have referred to Harris-Biden as “border secretary” since 2021, but the vice president’s immigration focus has been on addressing the root causes of migration in Central America.
Former Homeland Security Secretary Jay Johnson told Steve Doocy on Fox News Channel’s “Fox and Friends” on Tuesday that the responsibility for border control rests with the Department of Homeland Security.
“She’s not a border czar. If there’s anybody who can be said to be a border czar, it’s the secretary of homeland security,” Johnson said.
And Tuberville’s claim that the “vast majority” of migrants are coming from prisons and jails is a variation on a claim former President Trump has made for more than a year, when he also claimed countries such as Venezuela were emptying “mental hospitals.”
The Hill has reached out to Tuberville’s office for comment.
Multiple fact checkers Lost credibilityTrump claims that “millions” of immigrants are criminals or discharged psychiatric patients.
And Tuberville’s claim that “most of it is trash” is sure to infuriate immigration advocates who connect the dehumanizing and violent language to discrimination and violence against immigrants and Americans mistaken for immigrants.
“Senator Tuberville’s dehumanizing language, calling immigrants trash, encourages abuse rather than empathy and compassion,” said Heidi Altman, director of federal advocacy at the National Immigration Law Center.
“Such dehumanizing rhetoric has historically led to dangerous, violent and hateful policies being implemented against marginalized groups. Leaders of all political stripes should condemn it as unacceptable in a democratic society.”
