Children and families gathering at the U.S.-Mexico border should be immediately sent back to to their native countries, Idaho Rep. Raul Labrador said Sunday, as they are creating a crisis that will end up only harming the migrant children.
"I know it sounds harsh, I know it sounds difficult," the Republican lawmaker told NBC "Meet the Press" host David Gregory Sunday. "These children are going to come through the border. They are going to come from Central America. Many of them are being raped, many of them are being harmed. This is an outrageous thing that is happening to these children. We need to take a strong stand against what's happening."
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Labrador, like many Republicans, takes issue with statements that the spike in border crossings has come because of rising crime and poverty in Central America.
On Sunday, he blamed President Barack Obama's immigration policies, including his deferred action program, for encouraging immigrants to come to the United States.
"The reality is the violence in the Central American countries has existed for a long time," said Labrador. "The level of poverty has existed in the Central American countries over a long period of time. Over the last few years you've seen an increase in the number of children coming to the United States. He [Obama] said he's going to be able to stem it and it's not going to reach between 60,000 and 90,000 children. That's not going to happen."
Labrador said that if Obama orders immediate deportations, he'll be sending a sign that could discourage other immigrants from making the trip.
"These children are going to come to the border, they're going to come from Central America," said Labrador. "Many of them are being raped. Many of them are being harmed. This is an outrageous thing that's happening to these children, and we need to actually take a strong stand against what's happening."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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