Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., on Thursday scolded fellow members of her party for trying to "out-Republican the Republicans" on immigration, as Democrats and the Biden administration tried to find common ground on border security measures as part of an emergency supplemental funding deal.
A number of Democrats have expressed concern over a CBS News report which said the White House was open to a number of policy proposals on the border to get its supplemental funding request for the border, Ukraine and Israel passed. Those included a Title 42-style authority allowing for rapid expulsions at the border, increased detention and nationwide expedited removal.
Republicans – who had demanded stricter border security measures to combat the ongoing migrant crisis – have said there have been positive signs from the talks and suggested a deal could be within reach. But left-wing Democrats and immigration activists have accused the White House of "selling out" migrants and asylum seekers.
CONSERVATIVE GROUPS, EX-BORDER OFFICIALS DEMAND LAWMAKERS REJECT ‘UNACCEPTABLE’ BORDER COMPROMISE
Jayapal, the chair of the House Progressive Caucus, responded on X, formerly Twitter, to a tweet by Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent, who said sarcastically that Republicans had promised not to attack President Biden over the border as part of the deal.
"Exactly the problem that I have watched for decades," Jayapal said. "Dems try to out-Republican the Republicans on anti-immigration policies, mistakenly thinking that GOP will thank us for ‘fixing the border.’ NEWSFLASH: This is same party that just voted for [Biden’s] impeachment inquiry."
She went on to claim that Republicans have no interest in fixing the immigration system.
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"It has been too politically valuable to have immigrants to blame for everything. Giving in to this hostage taking just encourages them to do more of it and not stop till they have destroyed immigration as we know it," she said.
DEMOCRATS FUME OVER REPORTED BIDEN OFFER TO REINSTATE TITLE 42-TYPE MIGRANT EXPULSIONS
She then said Republicans are hoping to break apart the coalition that elected Biden in 2020, warning that swing voters will "swing right out to the couch" if they feel betrayed. She also said the proposals would only make things worse at the border.
"We'll go into 2024 with continued xenophobic Trumpian attacks, a completely demoralized base that won't vote over betrayals, & a decimated asylum system that cuts against our core," she said.
"We'll never out-Republican the Republicans – nor should we want to. All we'll do is create more chaos in an already-broken immigration system, deny people seeking to escape horrific conditions the right to seek asylum & lose voters who trusted us to stand up for them. Enough," she said.
She then renewed Democrat calls to abolish the Senate filibuster, expand "legal pathways" and pass "real comprehensive immigration reform."
The posts came as the clock ticks down on a potential deal, with lawmakers expected to depart Washington on Thursday. Meanwhile, a number of conservatives have also expressed concern about the deal, demanding that the entirety of the House GOP border legislation passed earlier this year be included.
On Friday, other lawmakers also expressed concern about getting a deal done before lawmakers break for the holidays.
"The small group negotiating a ‘deal’ in secret may reach agreement among themselves, but then we will need time to review it and determine whether it will actually solve the problem and has any chance of passing in the House," Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said on X.