‘We should be deporting people immediately’: Sen. Hagerty reacts after trip to the southern border, Nashville Nazi march
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WRKN) — U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) has returned from the southern border and is answering questions on what he called an “invasion of migrants.”
“We are being invaded at the border. Think about the numbers. Ten million people have come into this country. That’s an estimate, because we’re not sure how many people have gotten away,” stated Hagerty.
According to the latest U.S. Customs and Border Patrol data, there have been about 9 million migrant encounters nationwide since President Joe Biden took office in 2021. This number isn’t limited to the southern border and also includes migrants who were turned away.
But when asked why he opposed a bill his Republican Senate colleagues said would make the border more secure, Hagerty said he wanted to be able to add to it.
“What happened was, we were not allowed to amend it. The Democrats controlled the floor of the Senate, we moved right off of that bill on Ukraine. We didn’t have the opportunity to amend it,” explained Hagerty.
Bill negotiator U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) responded to that criticism on the Senate floor and claimed the same senators who wanted to amend the bill voted no to begin debating and amending it.
“This bill is subject to debate and subject to amendment but only, only, after a motion to invoke cloture is passed, which requires 60 votes,” Sinema said.
Hagerty said Democrats didn’t want to take votes on his amendment, which would address how undocumented migrants are counted. He claims Democrats want more migrants to inflate the electoral power of their districts
“I would have loved to put in place my legislation that would require only citizens be counted for the purpose of allocating congressional districts and electoral votes. The Democrats would not allow that vote to happen. They don’t want that to happen, but they want this to continue,” Hagerty said.
Biden and the U.S. Border Patrol union supported the bipartisan border deal.
Hagerty was asked if he supports efforts to bus migrants to Democrat-run cities, he said he would rather see migrants deported.
“I think what we should be doing is sending those buses back across the border, we should be deporting people immediately. I oppose anything that sends people into the interior. I want to see these people turned back around,” he said.
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Over the weekend, a group of neo-Nazis chanted, “Deportation saves our nation” through the streets of Nashville, blocks from where Hagerty was speaking.
When asked whether his calls for migrants to be deported encourages this type of behavior, the senator became visibly upset.
Hagerty: “Your attempt to correlate my language with some extremist group is wrong. You’re off base. I’m not going to further answer this crack.”
News 2’s Adam Mintzer: “If the rhetoric that you’re using is similar to the neo-Nazis we saw, do you believe that your rhetoric could be encouraging extremist groups here in Tennessee?”
Hagerty: “Well, let me be clear, I’m not using rhetoric. I’m citing the fact. You tell me 10 million people isn’t an invasion, you need to check your facts…your false attempt to correlate what I’m saying with some extremist group is wrong. I don’t buy it.”
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When repeatedly pressed as to whether he denounces the group of neo-Nazis, Hagerty didn’t directly respond.
“I denounce any group that wants to promote violence in the United States, I denounce the terrorists that are coming across our border right now,” he said. “I have a feeling something very bad is gonna happen there, or any other group that would do that.”
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