Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, said on Newsmax Saturday that Democrats have made clear that illegal immigrants are their top priority as a partisan standoff over Department of Homeland Security funding left the government shutdown in place.
In an interview on "Saturday Report," Van Duyne said the House passed a measure the previous night to fund all of Homeland Security for eight weeks, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.
She said Democrats opposed the House plan because, in her view, it directly funded front-line immigration agencies.
"The Democrats have been very clear that, No. 1, the most important person right now in the United States is the illegal immigrant," Van Duyne said.
Her comments came as the Senate and House advanced different approaches to reopening DHS.
The Senate approved a bill funding most of DHS, including the Transportation Security Administration and the Coast Guard, while excluding ICE and parts of CBP.
House Republicans rejected that approach and passed a separate stopgap bill to fund the full department through May 22.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the House measure would be "dead on arrival in the Senate."
On Friday, President Donald Trump signed an executive action to ensure TSA employees were paid during the impasse.
Van Duyne argued that Democrats want illegal immigrants to remain in the country so they can be counted in congressional districts that help Democrats retain seats, while U.S. citizens foot the bill through taxes and, in some cases, with their lives.
"They [Democrats] will do everything they can to make sure that the illegal immigrants are the ones who get to stay in this country," she said.
"This is all a reason that the Democrats are using because they want to retain power. If they've got the illegal immigrants who remain and stay in our country, they get to keep them in their congressional districts, which means they get to keep their congressional districts" blue.
The strategy also counters population losses in blue states as residents move to growing red states such as Texas, Florida, and Tennessee, "voting with their feet," she said.
The matters remain unresolved.
The House of Representatives is on recess. It began its scheduled District Work Period on Friday and will remain out of session through April 13.
The Senate is not on recess and is expected to stay in session through Sunday before starting its own State Work Period on Monday, March 30.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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