Jayapal made these comments during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Border Security and Enforcement Act of 2023.
Progressive Democrat Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington stated on Wednesday that immigrants are necessary because they “pick the food we eat,” “clean our homes,” and “rebuild our communities after climate disasters.”
Jayapal spoke at a markup of the Border Security and Enforcement Act of 2023 before the House Judiciary Committee. This bill seeks to address the country’s immigration situation. Republicans and others have accused Jayapal of perpetuating anti-immigrant stereotypes with her comments.
Jayapal argued for a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants living in the United States by saying, “Trump’s policies, combined with his anti-immigrant rhetoric, have made us less safe, less competitive when it comes to attracting the best and brightest, and have undermined our most basic human values of compassion and kindness.”
“So let’s all take a minute to see how hypocritical every argument against immigrants is,” she said. Foreigners are essential to the survival of this country. Immigrants harvest the food we eat, help rebuild our communities after natural disasters, construct our nation’s infrastructure, provide the muscle for our economy’s small businesses, clean our homes, care for our children and the elderly.
Jayapal, addressing the “labor shortage” in the United States, praised immigrants for their positive impact on the country’s economy, food supply chain, and competitiveness.
The Washington, D.C.-based Republican lobbying group FreedomWorks wasted little time in condemning Jayapal’s comments on social media.
“Jayapal is using the same old “Who will clean our homes?” defense for illegal immigration. “This is the best kind of limousine liberalism,” the organization said in a tweet.
“WOW! I mean, wow!Someone another on social media said, “Democrat Jayapal is defending the illegal mass immigration of the Biden administration.”
Anna Paulina Luna, the first Mexican American woman to be elected to Congress from Florida and a member of the Republican Party, was similarly offended by Jayapal’s remarks.
In response to Jayapal’s remarks, Luna told Fox News, “It’s gross stereotyping, and it’s why so many Hispanics leave the Dems for the GOP.”
As the administration continues to cope with large numbers of immigrants entering the United States from Mexico, Jayapal’s comments are timely.
CBP said Monday that there were 191,899 contacts at the southern border in March. Compared to March 2022 (when there were 222,574 contacts), this is a 14% decrease. This is a 23% increase over February’s 156,138 interactions, although this seasonal increase is to be expected. Sixty-nine percent or more of the persons we encountered were without a significant other.
A total of 162,317 persons attempted to enter the Southwest Border outside of designated crossing points last month. This is a decrease of 23% compared to March 2022 (211,181) and a decrease of 4% compared to March 2021 (169,216). According to another government source, the 33% and 73% increases in Border Patrol interactions between February and March in 2022 and 2021 are down to a 25% rise this year.
So far in 2023, the mortality toll is on par with or slightly lower than the death toll from 2022. After May 11, when the Title 42 public health order expires, it is unclear if anything will change. Both the Trump and the Biden administrations have used the directive, which became effective in 2020 due to the COVID-19 epidemic, to promptly send back hundreds of thousands of migrants at the border. Now in its third year, it has become an indispensable tool in dealing with the current immigration issue. Forty-six percent of March’s interactions resulted in a Title 42 removal, affecting 87,662.