Fresh from a 24-hour trip to the southern border in Yuma, Arizona, the GOP candidate for U.S. Senate Dave McCormick spoke to PoliticsPA about the experience, what he saw and learned, and why Chuck SchumerThe bipartisan Senate bill has flaws, and as extensive intelligence shows, there are many more flaws.
Border Trip
McCormick made a second trip to the border and met with local officials, including the sheriff of Yuma and the former head of the Yuma Sector Border Patrol. He went there with border guards and talked to local health workers.
“It was just an incredible set of experiences and data points,” McCormick said. “Two important conclusions – this is a huge failure of leadership on the part of the company President (Joe) Biden AND (Sen. Bob) Casey, who supports Biden every step of the way. This is a huge challenge on the national security front. Under Biden’s watch, 10 million illegal immigrants entered the country. Even last year, 160 people who were on the terrorist watch list were detained. It’s a huge economic burden.”
He talked about how overcrowded hospitals are and how it affects the quality of care. And he talked about the fentanyl crisis in the country and the Commonwealth.
“In Arizona, they’re projecting about 50 percent of the fentanyl crossing the border,” McCormick said. “They talked to us about the cartels, how sophisticated they were at pushing people, the exploitation and suffering of people that were taking place, and the human trafficking. Crossing the border through cartels costs between $5,000 and $20,000. And people who don’t have money are basically sold into slavery as drug dealers or prostitutes. It’s really scary.”
McCormick said he believes one solution to the border crisis is to return to the former president’s policies Donald Trump.
“The ability to stem this flow lies in the executive orders issued by Trump, and all of them were rescinded on day one by the Biden administration. Trying to secure the border is therefore a completely different philosophy. Finish the wall. Let people only go through legal entry points. Solve asylum issues on the other side of the border.
“There is no doubt that the border wall is a very important deterrent to crossing the border. It is very difficult to break through and creates a real barrier for people encountering places where it is wide open. Finish the wall. I think it’s clear that it works.”
Bipartisan border bill
McCormick also used the phrase “the height of cynicism” when asked about the Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer and his plan to reintroduce the bipartisan Border Security Act, which calls for reform of asylum law, the hiring of thousands of border officers and aims to curb fentanyl smuggling.
“If that was indeed the goal, President Biden already has enormous power to stem the flow of illegal immigrants,” he said. “Second, the proposed bill had good intentions but was essentially trying to solve a different problem. The resources focus primarily on speeding up the asylum process and processing asylum seekers more quickly. It is not a problem. The fundamental problem is that millions of people have crossed the border in search of asylum in a way that is completely out of control. The act is full of loopholes and I am not convinced, given Biden’s actions so far, by not using his powers, why he would use them under this act?
“And imagine if this became law,” he continued. “Let’s take this law and compare it to the situation of Europeans, Asians, Japanese… and let’s compare how these countries in every other industrialized country in the world deal with the issue of illegal entry for asylum. This would be the most liberal, lenient and cost-effective approach to asylum of any developed country in the world. I call it cynicism because it’s not really trying to solve anything. This is an attempt to raise political issues.”
McCormick also was critical of Casey, as were many other Democratic senators, saying there was evidence in the vote that senators wanted to include 10 million illegal immigrants on the census.
“It’s a big deal. This 10 million could affect the allocation of congressional seats. If New York or California gains another seat, it will impact both the balance of power in the House of Representatives and the Electoral College. At some point, Democrats will be able to make the case for a path to citizenship for all potential new voters. That’s why I call it cynicism.”
World affairs
The West Point graduate also spoke about global issues, including China’s economic threats to the United States and instability in the Middle East.
“China is an adversary and is taking steps to undermine America’s role in the world,” McCormick said. “I believe that what is happening in Russia and Ukraine threatens to destabilize Europe, which has been a source of peace and stability for the world since the end of World War II. And what is happening in the Middle East is completely destabilizing. You have a state sponsor of terror in Iran. It is the insurer of terrorists’ proxies. Hamas is a beneficiary of Iran.
“I think we are in a very uncertain moment. I think we need strong leadership. I am a Reagan Republican – peace through strength. I think the best way to ensure that America remains unchallenged, and to protect our young men and women from military crisis and war, is to be able to demonstrate strength. That’s why I think we’ve lost that ability under President Biden.”
Pennsylvania and why it’s running
He didn’t comment on the state’s recent tourism slogan – Pennsylvania: The Great American Getaway – but said the Commonwealth is incredibly blessed.
“We are incredibly blessed with this incredible natural resource, natural gas. We are blessed with this amazing geography, pretty parts of Pennsylvania, all sorts of different geographies and climates, from Lancaster to the Grand Canyon and Elk County. You just have these amazing, pretty, different parts of Pennsylvania. We are blessed with world-class universities. We are within 400-500 miles of 65% of the US population. We have an incredibly hard-working workforce. So I think we’re extremely blessed and I think we punch well below our weight.
“Bob Casey has served in this role for 18 years, and I challenge you to point to the significant contributions he has made to Pennsylvania’s future. I don’t think that’s the case, and I think he’s out of touch with what’s going on in Pennsylvania. I think he is not prepared for this moment and the challenges we face. That’s why I run and that’s why I look to the future with confidence.
