OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Arkansas Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders believes that President Joe Biden and his administration are a “failure” and that voters do not support his open border policies.
“Governor, why is it so hard to deport people who don’t belong here who kick cops, drive drunk, and steal my grandma’s Social Security number?” host Jesse Watters asked Sanders during an interview on Fox News.
“Because we have a president who absolutely doesn’t care that millions and millions of people are coming across our border illegally. He has the power to shut the border down, to stop it. He can reinstate the remain in Mexico policy. He could actually build the wall. There is a lot of things he could be doing and this simply is a complete and total failure by this administration. In the state of Arkansas alone we seized enough fentanyl in the last year to kill every single person in our entire state,” Sanders began.
“That’s nearly 3 million people. Every man, woman and child. Enough fentanyl just in this state alone. It’s an absolute disgrace with this president is doing and it’s another great example while in November he has to go and Donald Trump has to be put back in place so we can secure our border and get our country back,” she added.
Watters jumped in and asked: “Do think Joe Biden loves this country?”
“If he did, he certainly wouldn’t be trying to destroy it second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour. That’s exactly what he’s doing. He’s allowed our economy to drop and our border to completely collapse. Our enemies certainly don’t fear us,” Sanders said.
She added: “Our allies don’t respect us. Literally every single thing he does is at the destruction and demise of the people in this country. I think it is frankly totally disgraceful and disqualifying for him to be president of the United States if he cannot do the simple job of securing our border either at the south or the north.
WATCH:
Former President Donald Trump has vowed to take extreme actions to secure the U.S.-Mexico border if he wins November’s presidential election.
And that promise is supported by a key voting bloc — Latinos.
The most recent Axios-Ipsos Latino Poll shows that the percentage of Latinos who support erecting a border wall and deporting all undocumented immigrants has increased by at least 10 points since 2021.
According to the research, even among those who might have connections to immigration, Trump’s calls for increased border security and possibly his anti-immigrant rhetoric are having an impact.
The results also illuminate Republicans’ recent gains among Latinos and reflect the frustration that has elevated illegal immigration to the top issue for many Americans during election season.
If Trump wins back the presidency, he has vowed to increase border security and organize mass deportations, which he claims could include a million people.
President Joe Biden now claims he would be prepared to “close the border” in the event of spikes in the number of border crossers, following a political setback over border security.
Axios reported on the findings:
42% of Latino adults surveyed said they support building a wall or fence along the entire U.S.-Mexico border. That’s a 12-point jump from December 2021.
38% support sending all undocumented immigrants in the U.S. back to their country of origin—up from 28% in 2021.
In addition, 64% of Latinos said they support giving the president the authority to shut U.S. borders if there are too many immigrants trying to enter the country. It was the first time the survey asked this question.
Support for building a wall was strongest among Cuban Americans (58%), who generally are more conservative than many other Latinos and have benefited from decades of Cold War-era “special treatment” on immigration.
Support for the border wall is lowest among Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans (37%). Only 43% of Central Americans support the wall.
According to the survey, after inflation and crime, Latinos’ top concerns in this election year are immigration and crime.
Even though the percentage of Latinos who believe that anyone in the country illegally should be deported is on the rise, a sizable majority (65%) still prefer to offer them a path to citizenship.
A massive 59% are in favor of granting asylum to refugees who are escaping crime and violence in Latin America in the United States.
Ipsos pollster and senior vice president Chris Jackson told Axios that the poll “illustrates that some immigration hardline positions are incrementally more popular” among Latinos.
