Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said ahead of President Biden’s first visit to the southern border that Congress must act on legislation to strengthen border enforcement and bolster the country’s asylum processing infrastructure.
“I think every person who has a legitimate asylum claim should be able to make that claim,” Khanna said on “Fox News Sunday” with Shannon Bream. “But we should make sure that it’s legitimate … That is why it’s actually Congress that needs to act to strengthen the border and have more border enforcement but also to have more people who can process these claims.”
Khanna said one of the key initiatives of the federal government is to determine whether asylum seekers are not just coming to the U.S. for “economic” opportunities. The Biden administration, as part of its revamped border enforcement plan, has said it hopes to get as many asylum seekers as possible to fill out asylum applications online. It is a policy Khanna said he supports.
“As a representative from Silicon Valley, I think if we can get people making these applications before they make that treacherous journey, that would be an improvement,” Khanna said.
Khanna also urged lawmakers to act with compassion in coming up with border security measures.
“We need to secure the border but also have the humanity,” Khanna said. “I think we as a nation need to have an obligation to people who are refugees to file for asylum and we also need a secure border. I wish we could come together on that.”
Khanna: US needs border security and compassion
