With the southern border in disarray, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) recently said he offered to help President Joe Biden address rising illegal immigration, but the president dismissed his offer.
During an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” the Connecticut governor claimed he offered the president the Connecticut Guard to help tackle illegal immigration at the southern border but said the president wouldn’t accept his offer.
🚨Dem Governor Calls On Biden To Close Border & Blames Republicans!
Connecticut's Gov Lamont offered help to secure the border, but Biden rejected, shifting blame to House Republicans. Read more: https://t.co/gNGiiylLZ4
— Patriot911 (@Patriot911News) February 4, 2024
“You may need housing for a different reason: immigration. You have people being bused up there — not in the same way that is being — that’s happening here — what do you think of the immigration problem in America, and do you think that blue states, which, for so long, thought this was a not in my backyard issue, now it is,” CNBC host Andrew Ross Sorkin asked.
In response, Lamont said, “It’s in all of our backyards. Gov. [Phil] Scott (R) from Vermont and myself just wrote a letter together, two states that you don’t think are on the frontlines of immigration, it’s hitting us. I see what it’s doing to the country.”
“They’ve got to secure the border. I tell President Biden, we’ll send the Connecticut Guard down to help you if that’s what you need to get it done,” he added.
Lamont suggested that Biden is simply trying to make excuses for why he can’t secure the southern border.
Under Biden, Connecticut has seen illegal immigration skyrocket, according to the state’s Department of Social Services, which reported over 500 Haitians and Cubans arriving in the state since 2023.
Lamont emphasized the need for Republicans and Democrats in Congress to pass an immigration plan to secure the southern border. The Connecticut governor said such legislation cannot be ignored, adding that Biden’s lax border policies affect every U.S. state.
When asked if he supports Biden’s reelection bid, Lamont danced around the question and changed the subject to his state’s infrastructure issues.
With the Senate on the verge of releasing a bipartisan immigration plan, Biden has vowed that if such legislation passes the chamber, he will shut down the southern border “when it becomes overwhelmed.”
“If given that authority, I would use it the day I sign the bill into law,” the president said in a statement.
