Acknowledging "chaos at the border" while advocating for border security being more than a mere wall, the first Department of Homeland Security secretary would like to see the end of border security being a pawn in a political chess match.
"I wish my friends on the hill, both Republicans and Democrats, would start focusing on the problem rather than try to get political wins out of the deal," Tom Ridge, who was named the DHS secretary by former President George W. Bush after 9/11, told "The Cats Roundtable" on 970 AM-N.Y.
Ridge, a Republican former governor of Pennsylvania, called for Congress to write a "21st century immigration policy," but admitted it would take compromise on behalf of Republicans, Democrats, and President Donald Trump who staked his political career on building the wall.
"We want a secure border – we deserve it," Ridge told host John Catsimatidis. "Our country has been very, very porous. I understand that. But it's so much more than a wall at the border. We need to be a lot more aggressive and a lot more thoughtful as we deal with immigration going forward. And until we put this political divisiveness beside us, we're just going to keep moving the ball up and down the field and nobody's going to score.
"If you're going to make America great again, then you need a 21st century immigration policy that not only makes us more secure at the border, but irons out some of these other problems we have with immigration policy now."
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