SAN DIEGO (KGTV)— Speaker of the House Mike Johnson toured the San Diego border Thursday with Congressman Darrell Issa.
After the tour, the speaker met and took questions from the press.
Speaker Johnson slammed President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris about their border policy, saying the people coming in pose a security risk to our country.
The speaker said he toured the San Ysidro Port of Entry and various parts of the border, including seeing the border wall in San Diego for the first time.
"This has become in many ways the epicenter of the Biden-Harris border catastrophe," said the speaker.
The speaker's visit comes nearly two months after Biden’s executive order on immigration and as migrant apprehensions continue to decline.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the number of migrant encounters is down 55% since the order took effect seven weeks ago.
However, members of the National Border Patrol Union say those numbers don’t reflect reality and claim migrants are instead going to land and airports to turn themselves in.
"Essentially, the only thing that’s changed since the executive order went into effect is that the processing is happening in a different place," said John Anfinsen, the executive vice president of the National Border Patrol Council.
As the speaker talked to the media, volunteers who work with migrants listened in.
At the time of the press conference, twelve migrants, including five children, were waiting at the border, all hoping to seek asylum.
"It doesn’t match what they are presenting, and the reality that we see here for almost a year is a narrative that is counter and is in conflict," said Adriana Jasso, the program coordinator for the American Friends Service Committee.
Speaker Johnson also expressed concern about migrants threatening the integrity of the upcoming election despite data that shows that less than 1% of undocumented immigrants vote in state and federal elections.
"Democrats apparently believe in an open border; that’s what their actions have shown, and their inaction on our legislation have shown," said Speaker Mike Johnson.
