California Gov. Gavin Newsom claimed that President Biden is trying to act on the southern border, but Republicans are failing to act on the crisis to influence the upcoming presidential election.
"The president put out a comprehensive strategy, a pathway to citizenship along the lines of their former hero, Ronald Reagan, to address the reality on the ground," Newsom said during an appearance on ABC's "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos.
Newsom, a Democrat, said immigration reform is just as much of an issue as border security, outlining a $14 billion plan to get more judges to process illegal immigrants more efficiently and provide security at the border with 2,300 new border agents.
"And they refuse to act," Newsom says of Republicans in Congress. "They're just promoting an agenda to disrupt and find a crowbar, to put in the spokes in the wheels of the Biden administration to disrupt any progress on this, because they don't want progress. Period."
The interview was done while Newsom was on the campaign trail with President Biden in South Carolina over the weekend.
Biden's intent was to drive home two messages: He is loyal to the state that saved his campaign in 2020, and he is determined to win back Black voters.
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"You’re the reason I am president," Biden told attendees at the state party’s fundraising dinner ahead of its first ever "first-in-the-nation" Democratic primary on Feb. 3. "You’re the reason Kamala Harris is a historic vice president. And you’re the reason Donald Trump is a defeated former president. You’re the reason Donald Trump is a loser. And you’re the reason we’re going to win and beat him again."
Meanwhile, Sen. Rick Scott. R-Fla., said during an appearance on "Fox News Sunday" that Democrats do not want to secure the border, and that, "We don't need a new bill, we need something to force Biden to comply with the law."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
