Arizona Congressmen and Senate Candidate Ruben Gallego (D) criticized his opponent Kari Lake (R) regarding the ongoing border crisis– calling her an "extremist" for allegedly not supporting comprehensive immigration reform.
When discussing Lake, Gallego said, “There is nothing more extremist than being an election denier twice.” He continued by highlighting that Lake has had, what he called, “fundraisers with Qnon supporters.”
The Arizona Democrat attacked Lake’s position regarding border security. Rep. Gallego claimed that Lake is continually “rejecting border compromise” legislation.
“She can do all she wants, she could say all she wants, but there is no way she’s gonna cover up how extreme and dangerous she is,” said Gallego.
According to the congressman from Arizona’s 7th district, he has been the strongest Arizonan congressman when it comes to fighting for more border security.
“I have voted for $92 billion and thousands of border patrol [personnel] since I’ve been in Congress,” noted Gallego. “I’ve always tried to find a way to make sure that we have both border security and immigration reform. When you have Kari Lake she doesn’t want either. She won’t vote for border security and she doesn’t want immigration reform,” the congressman asserted.
When asked about what he wants to see regarding new border legislation, Gallego repeatedly explained that he’s open to anything that works.
“I will be gladly willing to look at anything that comes along, as long as it helps Arizonans,” he said.
Gallego vocalized the need for more “border funding” and “certain level of immigration reform.”
When asked about whether he supported reinstalling the “Remain in Mexico”, a Trump policy that Republicans often cite as being effective, Gallego was hesitant to credit the policy. He spoke about how the policy would make it "harder on Mexico."
"No. When you do this kind of stuff, its got to be comprehensive, right? There is no one shot deal that's going to take care of everything," said Gallego.
As for President Joe Biden using executive orders to address the "crisis" at the southern border, Gallego said," I don't think that is possible."
Gallego was quick to shut down the idea of a border wall being effective.
“There is no one-shot deal that’s going to take care of everything,” he mentioned.
As both chambers of Congress continued to discuss and debate immigration policy, Gallego shared his frustrations with what he called “a divided government.” When speaking of future negotiations, the congressmen said, “This isn't Burger King. You don’t get what you want -- you gotta do the best you can.”
