Cory Garner Says He Opposes Closure Of Mexico Border
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - The White House says President Donald Trump's threat to shut down the southern border with Mexico is not a bluff. The President tweeted out the following over the weekend: "Mexico must use its very strong immigration laws to stop the many thousands of people trying to get into the USA. Our detention areas are maxed out & we will take no more illegals. Next step is to close the Border! This will also help us with stopping the Drug flow from Mexico!" The State Department consequently cut aid to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras over the weekend.
Sen. Cory Gardner, a Republican and Colorado's junior senator, is now giving his input on the matter; he spoke with CBS4's Mekialaya White during a scheduled tour of a crisis center in Aurora on Monday.
"Look, I don't think closing the border is a good idea. Let's get our job done when it comes to immigration. Let's get our job done when it comes to security. Obviously, we do face a crisis, but we have to make sure that we're doing a job that doesn't have the unintended economic impacts like such an action could take," Gardner explained.
Gardner also said he has orchestrated talks with the previously mentioned Central American countries.
"I've met with the ambassador to the United States from Honduras, (we're) talking to them about making sure that they're enforcing laws in Honduras, El Salvador, the other Central American countries that were cut off. I think there's more work that we should do and I hope that we can find the right kind of partnership and balance to address immigration concerns and make sure that we're improving the relationships between all of our countries," he added.
In 2018, Garner urged then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to stop the zero tolerance policy, which separated migrant children from their families.