'It's Tell The Truth Time': Jeff Van Drew Tees Off On Dems Over Attacks On Trump's Immigration Policy

Forbes Breaking News

During a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) defended the Republicans' immigration policies and questioned witnesses about visa processes.

Transcript

00:00Andrew. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to condense this down. Let's be clear.

00:08Nobody here on this side, I am not against legal immigration. We are against breaking the law.

00:16We, you know, we want to make this complicated. Not you all. I'm not blaming you, but in general,

00:21it's not complicated. We don't want the law to be broken. And the abuse that's going on,

00:26or did go on, is causing the American people to lose faith in our immigration system.

00:32And see, that's the worst of it. And I'm going to emphasize this over and over again.

00:36Unfortunately, folks on the left, folks on the other side, it's even happening today,

00:40they'll talk about doctors and teachers and scientists coming over and how we're going to

00:46stop that. And they're going to not want to come over. They're not the ones we're concerned with.

00:51Scientists and doctors are coming over legally. They're going through the system. And they're

00:57actually getting hurt because of what has happened over the last number of years with the illegals

01:03coming in. Because Americans are getting somewhat confused, unfortunately. Let's not blur this.

01:11Nobody is against legal immigration of good people coming to America. That's the way America was built.

01:19And as many times as the other folks on the other side will say, immigration, I'm going to keep

01:25qualifying. We're talking about illegal activity and illegal immigration. And worst of all, we keep

01:34doing this over and over again. And under Joe Biden, the problem wasn't just illegal entry at the border,

01:40and it's what we're here to talk about today. It was our legal visa processing system. For years,

01:47that administration opened the floodgates. They allowed criminals in. They allowed individuals that

01:53were indicted in their own country or indicted here. They allowed individuals that were convicted in

01:58their own country or convicted here. We had people on the terror watch list. And I'm not only one saying

02:03that. We had the FBI director, the previous FBI director here under the Biden administration, no friend of

02:09mine, don't particularly care for him. But he said America was more dangerous than ever before in its

02:15entire history. And that's got nothing to do with Trump. He wasn't president yet. So let's cut it out.

02:22It's tell the truth time. It's time to be honest. And programs that were designed to bring in skilled

02:29workers, students, and seasonal labor have been twisted into a gateway for the wrong people to come

02:36into our country. Bad actors were allowed to skip the line. And all while good people that were

02:43mentioned and are mixed in were pushed to the back of the line. The people that we do want to come to

02:48America. That boulder terrorist. Anybody look at his social media content? He was involved in pro-Muslim

02:56Brotherhood propaganda. It was supposed to be a red flag. It usually is a red flag, I guess, but it wasn't

03:02red flag. It appears no one actually screened this guy. Meanwhile, I'm going to say it again, because I

03:10really want to pound this in law abiding good immigrants who do it properly. They're waiting for years. And I'd

03:17actually agree sometimes too long. They're good people. They love America. Some of them love America more than the

03:22people who are born here in America. Because the system is overwhelmed by fraud and abuse.

03:31The more we let bad actors come in into the system, the more it becomes harder for the good actors to

03:37succeed and make their way to America. And we've got programs that are good. People come here for a while

03:42and they stay. Some of them become citizens. Some go back every year and they work hard. Those are good

03:49people. But we're screwing them. We're giving them the short end of the stick. And that's why it's so

03:56hypocritical to mix in the bad folks with the good folks the way we are when we converse and debate about

04:02it. A secure legal immigration system is not anti-immigrant. It's pro-American and it's pro-immigrant.

04:11And we need to restore that integrity. So let's stop letting bad people abuse the system. I got some

04:18questions for you real fast. It's like when you vote. You got to vote for this one or that one.

04:23I simply want a yes or no answer. I don't want a whole long thing, Mr. Noraster. I want a yes or a no.

04:30Are Americans safer when we stop thoroughly vetting visa applicants? Ms. Juan, you start.

04:34No. No. No. No. No. Good. Should foreign nationals with radical or anti-American social media

04:43be denied visas? Yes. Yes. Broadly. Depends. I'm a free speech absolutist. I'm a free speech

04:51absolutist. I believe in the First Amendment of the United States. So I guess no. As a First

04:55Amendment believer, no. When you vote, don't talk over me. This is my time, not yours. When you vote,

05:02you have to make a decision. Is it fair to legal immigrants who wait years to let visa overstays

05:07apply for work permits after they broke the law? Yes or no? No. No. No. Yes. No. Should someone who

05:18was... Last one. Should someone who was... I'm out of time. I yield back, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman,

05:24I have two quick unanimous consent requests. Yes, ma'am. The first one is an article from NBC News

05:30entitled, Hundreds of International Doctors Due to Start Medical Residencies Are in Visa Limbo.

05:35No. And the second one is...

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