US Representative Cory Mills (R-Fl) expressed his commitment to either "shutdown the border or shutdown the government."
Representative Mills' comments are representative of many Republican lawmakers' willingness to compel Democrats to compromise on immigration reform and tighter border enforcement.
Mills outlined his legislative priority via X as passing "the 12 single-point Appropriation Bills with necessary cuts, reforms, economic growth strategy, and either shut the border or Shutdown the government.”
This is something I stated earlier but worth recycling:
“Get the 12 single-point Appropriation Bills with necessary cuts, reforms, economic growth strategy, and either shut the border or Shutdown the government” pic.twitter.com/hkUgX0cUaf
— Cory Mills (@CoryMillsFL) December 31, 2023
Last November, conservative lawmakers leveraged government funding to encourage Democrats and President Joe Biden to acquiesce to Republican requests for decreased spending and immigration enforcement.
A government shutdown was averted due to ex-House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy's passage of a temporary spending bill.
With such bill's expiration date nearing, Republicans are once again signaling their commitment to immigration enforcement and fiscal policy includes entering a government shutdown if necessary.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken recently visited Mexico to discuss joint immigration enforcement measures with Mexican officials. A joint US-Mexico press release described the trip reinforced both countries' mission to "address the root causes of migration, such as poverty, inequality, and violence."
However, many Republicans have accused Biden of generating the migrant crisis at the Southwest border via loose immigration laws and the deliberate lack of enforcement of existing immigration laws.
US Representative Anna Paulina-Luna (R-Fl) recently criticized Biden's immigration policies while warning of a new migrant caravan traveling towards the US through central America.
Representative Luna claimed border enforcement legislation is urgently needed to adequately regulate immigration flows across America's borders.
"To hear that this is somehow a humanitarian thing, and we need to just blanket wave these people in. One, it is stupid, but also it is a political talking point. And let me be clear about something. We absolutely have the ability to stop this, and we should " explained Luna.
