(NewsNation) — Many of the core issues NewsNation raised in a special episode of “Dan Abrams Live” on the border come as no surprise to lawmakers in Washington, D.C.
NewsNation reporters fanned out nationwide, reporting live on the situation on the border and its impact on communities, education and crime rates.
Kansas Senator Roger Marshall, a Republican, said Border Patrol officers are doing everything they can, but they’re “simply overwhelmed.”
“If there’s more than 1,000 people crossing the border in one day, then the Border Patrol is maxed out,” Marshall said. “When you have 10,000 a day, it’s impossible.”
While there are heated debates over how to solve these major challenges, no one disputes the need to solve the border crisis.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said he’s been very clear that “we need to continue this conversation.”
“We need a border deal,” he said in an interview with NewsNation.
It’s been one of the Republicans’ top agenda items throughout President Joe Biden’s term, but what’s more interesting is the call from those in the president’s party for him to do more through executive action.
Just this week, 15 Democrats wrote a letter to Biden urging that more be done about the border, saying, “All of our constituents, no matter our congressional district, have felt the impacts of the current border situation.”
“Communities across the country are grappling with the fentanyl crisis and struggling to find appropriate shelter and services for those seeking asylum,” the letter said.
Biden has introduced a new proposed rule change on asylum, which aims to speed up processing at the southern border for a limited group of people believed to have committed serious crimes in order to quickly eject them from the country.
NewsNation spoke to several Republicans about the proposed rule change, and many said they don’t think the Biden administration will go far enough to make any meaningful impact.
Meanwhile, Republicans have come up with their own immigration bill, H.R. 2, which would revive many of the policies pursued by former President Donald Trump, build more of the border wall and impose new restrictions on asylum-seekers.
While some Democrats called the legislation “cruel” and “anti-immigrant,” with Biden promising a veto, Fetterman said there are provisions in it he supports.
“I’m comfortable in voting for many, many more kinds of conditions in H.R.2,” Fetterman said, adding that his one “red line” is anything that could harm the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Meanwhile, a high-level Senate source confirmed to NewsNation Friday that Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is considering reintroducing a failed bipartisan border bill. While it was negotiated by Democrats and Republicans, a majority of GOP Senators ultimately voted against the legislation, arguing it didn’t go far enough.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.