Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich Wednesday urged President Donald Trump to keep the U.S-Mexico border open, as the consequences to the economy, the national relationship with Mexico, and to millions of families would be "absurd."
"I would strongly urge the president not to try to shut down the border," Gingrich told Fox News' "Fox and Friends." "We have so many people every day who go back and forth. We have so much economic goods on both sides. It would truly be a mess and it would frankly mess up the very economy he is proud of. You would have tremendous side effects from closing the border."
However, that does not mean the borders should be open to all who want to cross, said Gingrich, while responding to a call from Democratic presidential candidate Julan Castro to decriminalize border crossings and extend amnesty to millions of immigrants.
"I think you have to give him credit for being honest," said Gingrich. "He is for open borders. The truth is the Democratic Party is the open border party. They would welcome any number of immigrants."
Welcoming immigrants would change the nation's healthcare system, its tax structure, and the "very nature of our culture," Gingrich continued. "We have been a very open country with legal immigration. But we have expected people to become Americans. Once you open the border totally, you have no idea 10 years from now what kind of country you are going to live in."
He added that Republicans in the House and Senate should offer plans for commonsense reforms, and force them to a vote in the House through a discharge petition, if necessary.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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