Jamiesfeast – The hometown newspaper has criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson for his inconsistent stance on legislation concerning the surge of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson, who took over from Kevin McCarthy in October, has faced criticism from fellow conservatives for his role in negotiating a temporary agreement to fund the government. Moreover, he is tasked with leading a conference that has generally opposed providing further funding for Ukraine due to concerns about the situation at the southern border.
Recently, he has garnered support by making a strong commitment that any bipartisan legislation created in the Senate would be rejected in the House if it fails to adequately address the numerous perceived flaws in the existing immigration law.
“We agree with the assessment of U.S. Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, a conservative Republican who has criticized his House colleagues for their change of position and who attributes it to election-year politics,” states an editorial in The Advocate, Louisiana’s largest newspaper, located in Baton Rouge. “The House resistance seems to be fueled by the criticism of the deal by former president and presumed GOP nominee Donald Trump.”
Johnson has conveyed his stance to President Joe Biden and Democrats, as the Biden administration finds itself engaged in a dispute with Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Republican officials nationwide.
For months, Abbott has been in conflict with the federal government regarding the unprecedented number of migrants crossing the border from Mexico. In December, approximately 300,000 migrants, averaging nearly 10,000 per day, entered the U.S. through Mexico. This includes around 250,000 individuals who crossed between ports of entry, as reported by Customs and Border Protection data. Texas alone witnessed 155,789 migrant encounters during the same month.
According to the CBP, federal border agents encountered approximately 2.5 million migrants in total last year, surpassing the previous record high from the previous year.
Since 2022, Abbott has been elevating the issue to a national level by deploying buses of migrants to Democratic-led “sanctuary cities,” which offer protection to undocumented immigrants against deportation.
Lankford, along with other Republicans like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Utah Senator Mitt Romney, has faced criticism from conservatives, including Donald Trump Jr. They argue that amnesty for migrants is a crucial component of the negotiations.
Speculation surrounds former President Donald Trump’s alleged attempts to obstruct or impede border-related legislation, with suggestions that he may be doing so to bolster his own political prospects in the upcoming November elections. Immigration has emerged as a contentious topic, rallying Republicans and serving as a significant point of division.
CNN chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju asked Johnson if he had spoken to Trump or if he was assisting his campaign by suggesting the idea of killing Senate-backed legislation. In response, Johnson dismissed the notion as “absurd.”
The Advocate does not find Johnson’s reasoning convincing.
According to the editorial, Johnson denies that he is following Trump’s lead. However, it is evident that Trump is more focused on exploiting a crisis rather than working towards a solution while his opponent is in power. The editorial highlights that while Trump holds no official policy role at the moment, Johnson does.
“We are saddened to witness him choose that direction and we strongly encourage him to reconsider.”