WASHINGTON – Congressman Pat Ryan is calling for changes at the southern border and demanded that Speaker Mike Johnson bring the Senate’s now failed border security bill to a vote in the House of Representatives.
The measure, which was defeated in the Senate by a vote of 43 to 50, would have been the first major overhaul of immigration policy in three decades however failed after facing bipartisan opposition.
In the House, Republicans have thus far have not yet brought the Senate’s failed proposal for a vote, a move Ryan would like to see happen. Ryan characterized the failure as “the most cynical and disappointing display of partisanship” he’s seen in Congress. Speaker Johnson previously said that even if the border security bill passed the Senate, it would be “dead on arrival” in the House.
“I’m fighting to restore order at the border, and that requires Democrats and Republicans alike to put aside the politics and come together as patriots to deliver. We have in front of us a bill to secure the border and stop the flow of dangerous fentanyl flooding into our community. I fully support it – and I’m demanding Speaker Johnson bring it to the House floor for a full vote,” said Ryan.
Alison Esposito, Ryan’s GOP opponent, said he is merely “playing politics” in his calls for border security.
“Pat Ryan’s call for ‘order at the border’ is laughable and insulting. For the last two years he has stayed quiet as President Biden allowed record numbers of illegal migrants to enter our country and illegal drugs to invade our communities,” said Esposito. “As a county executive he made Ulster County a sanctuary county, refusing to cooperate with ICE. If anyone is playing politics it’s Pat Ryan playing election year politics only trying to cover up for his years of open-border policies.”
The Senate’s failed proposal, when combined with funding from this year’s appropriation bills, would have funded the hiring of over 1,500 new border protection personnel and over 4,300 new asylum officers. It would have also created 100 new immigration judge teams and 1,200 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel. Also included in the Senate proposal were provisions that expedite work permits so that immigrants can immediately get to work and created provisions for the expedition and removal of those who don’t qualify for asylum.
“This bill would fix our broken asylum system, hire additional border patrol agents, and crack down on fentanyl traffickers. We should pass it immediately,” said Ryan.
This call to action by Ryan is not his first when it comes to border security and immigration policy. In August of 2023, Ryan joined colleagues in a letter calling on then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to bring the Biden Administration’s proposed over $4 billion border security funding supplemental to a vote in the House and in April, Ryan cosponsored a house resolution “Condemning Republican inaction to address comprehensive immigration reform and border security.” He also called for $800 million of funding to be added to HR2, the Secure the Boarder Act, to combat the trafficking of illicit fentanyl across the border and was critical of the bill for not including any mention of fentanyl.
Speaking to HR2, Esposito criticized Ryan for voting against the measure.
“In May 2023 Pat Ryan voted no on the Secure the Border Act, a comprehensive Border Security legislation that passed the U.S. House,” said Esposito. “The Secure the Border Act will force the Biden Administration to restart the border wall, increase the number of Border Patrol agents, end catch and release, end the abuse of executive immigration authority, and strengthen and streamline the asylum process.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D, New York) has not brought HR2 for a vote in the Senate, previously stating it is full of “hard-right border policies” that would not have the votes to pass.
