Homeland Security head Jeh Johnson ‘border is not open’ and we will ‘stem this tide’
DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said the President would “stem this tide” of illegal immigration but was repeatedly unable to offer specifics on how Obama’s forthcoming executive actions would work.
“Our message to those who come here illegally: Our border is not open to illegal migration and we are taking a number of steps to address it, including turning people around faster,” Homeland Security Secretary Johnson said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday’s.
Johnson discusses executing the President’s new action plan, but offered no real details.
“I believe we’re going to stem this tide. We’re doing a number of things to do that right now,” he told “Meet the Press” host David Gregory multiple times, but refused to elaborate.
Johnson condemned the large anti-immigration protests that erupted this week in the small California town of Murrieta, where angry crowds hurled insults at busloads of undocumented immigrants who were being transported from the border to a federal processing facility, explaining that it was “unfortunate to see that kind of hostility directed at women and children.”
Murrieta Mayor Alan Long said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that his town’s residents were merely expressing “legitimate concerns” in their protests but that “most of the angry people you saw were from out of town.”
Republicans and Democrats alike have blasted Obama’s approach to immigration reform in recent days, with Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) saying Sunday that Obama has been “one step behind” the crisis and Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) saying that the administration “needs to deport” thousands of undocumented immigrants immediately.
President Obama is set to visit Texas, but Johnson didn’t confirm whether he would be making a visit to the border. He said he and the president are looking into options “within the constraints of the law” to take executive action in light of congressional inaction to provide reforms to the current system.”
