The Daily Signal - Congresswoman Takes Action to Uphold Immigration Law

Episode Date: February 8, 2021

America requires those emigrating legally to the U.S. to undergo a medical physical before entering the country. This practice, established in law known as Title 42, is more important now than ever as the nation continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.  Rep. Yvette Herrell, R-N.M., who took office in January, has introduced legislation to ensure that Title 42 is upheld and that immigrants who test positive for COVID-19 aren't permitted entry into the U.S.  Herrell joins the show to discuss her bill, the Protecting Americans From Unnecessary Spread Upon Entry Act, or PAUSE Act, as well as her work to protect our southern border.  Also on today’s show, we read your letters to the editor and share a good news story about the grand reopening of a family-owned ice cream shop in Kenosha, Wisconsin, that rioters burned to the ground last summer.  Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the Daily Signal podcast for Monday, February 8th. I'm Robert Blewey. And I'm Virginia Allen. On today's show, we welcome Representative Yvette Herald back to the podcast to discuss her very first bill called Protecting Americans from Unnecessary Spread Upon Entry or POS Act of 2021. The legislation seeks to protect safeguards that restrict immigrants from entering the country who are infected with COVID-19 or other viruses. We also read your letters to the editor and share a good news story about the grand reopening of a Kenosha ice cream shop that was burned to the ground by rioters last summer. Rob, before we jump into today's show, could you just share a little bit about some very exciting news regarding the Heritage Foundation and former Vice President Mike Pence? I certainly can, Virginia.

We announced last week that Vice President Pence will be joining the Heritage Foundation as a distinguished visiting fellow. And in that capacity, he's actually going to be contributing a monthly column to the Daily Signal. So we are just thrilled at the Daily Signal for what is to come. Of course, Vice President Pence has been a conservative hero for so many people throughout his career as a congressman, as the governor of Indiana, and then as one of the most consequential vice presidents in our history. So to have him join the Heritage Foundation and contribute to the Daily Signal, sure is going to be a treat. It really is, Rob. It's such an honor. And to make sure that you never miss Pence's monthly columns here at the Daily Signal, be sure that you're signed up for the Daily Signal's Morning Bell email newsletter. These emails deliver the top news and commentary right to your inbox every morning. It's completely free to sign up. Just visit DailySignal.com and click on the connect button in the top of the page and we'll start sending you the morning bell tomorrow. tune for today's show coming up next. I am so pleased to welcome back to the show, Representative

of Vette Herald of New Mexico. Representative Harrell, thank you so much for being here. You know what? I am just pleased to be able to join you, so thank you for making the accommodations for me. Oh, of course. Anytime. Well, the last time that you were on the show, Congresswoman, we talked about the importance of protecting our southern border and ensuring that those who do immigrate to America, do so legally. You have just introduced your very first bill, which is focused on securing the border amid the ongoing pandemic. The bill is called protecting Americans from unnecessary spread upon entry or the Paws Act. Congresswoman, can you just tell us a little bit more about the Paws Act? I will, and you're absolutely right. Protecting that southern border could not be

more important, especially for me in my district, you know, coming from a state that has 180 miles of southern border in it. But essentially, the legislation preserves the existing border health protections, and it's intended to safeguard the citizens of our country and naturally of my state. And we really want to keep that title 42. This is the tool, one of the health protections that the Trump administration invoked to give our Border Patrol agency ability to deport those coming across our borders illegally from Mexico and Canada because we are under a pandemic. This gave the Border Patrol agency opportunities to report, no questions asked, because they have to work under the assumption that everybody coming across the border illegally either has

been exposed to or maybe carrying COVID-19 or another infectious disease. So this really is very important because a state like New Mexico, we've been in lockdown for over nine months. We've lost a large part of our economy jobs. We just are not competitive in a regional manner in terms of competition economically with Texas and Arizona. So for New Mexico, this is a huge opportunity to at least protect all of our border communities and, in fact, beyond from the spread of COVID. And so it's super exciting. We had over 30 co-sponsors on the bill. So that tells me that, you know, this is one that everyone is looking at and taking very seriously and especially, again, under this pandemic situation. It's so good to see that there is so much support for this

bill. It's so critical. Like you say, Title 42 says that those seeking to immigrate to the U.S., they must first undergo a physical and a mental examination. And like you say, of course, during the pandemic, this law is more important than ever. If Title 42 were done away with, what impact would that have on our border states and even across America? Yeah, that is the $60,000 question because, you know, we can point to two years ago, 18 months ago, and we had the influx of traffic coming across the border. And in New Mexico, our small rural communities were really shouldering the burden of housing, you know, offering housing, food, medical.

And so that has been one of the reasons why this bill, this POS Act is so critical because we don't know who will be shouldered the burden of putting people into quarantine for 14 days, providing that medical evaluation, that testing, and then housing, those that do indeed test positive for it. So it just layers so many more components of uncertainty and then financial insecurity to our communities who, number one, we just don't have the revenue base that we had, you know, two or three years ago with any of our communities. plus a lot of our nonprofit organizations that were really good at stepping up to the challenge two years ago, we've lost many of the volunteers out of those organizations because of the COVID. So it's really looking at the big picture.

You know, we're seeing, you know, Biden eliminates one of the tools that Trump use in the toolbox. We know this slowed the spread in 2019 and 2020, and we don't want to see it exasperating our border communities. Of course. I know that one of your top priorities as a member of Congress is to protect American jobs. How does the POS Act seek to also do that to guard the jobs of Americans? Well, I think this bill is really more focused on the health of our communities. We're actually, you know, we want the bill. In fact, it states that we'd like to leave it in play until these travel restrictions are lifted from level four to level one until the federal

restrictions are lifted on the national level and state restrictions like stay at home orders, wearing a mask, the kids not being educated. So the bill itself specifically doesn't play into any role of unemployment. It really is laser focused on the health of our communities and our country. Well, and that is certainly so, so critical right now. President Biden has signed a number of executive orders to change America's border and immigration policies this past Tuesday. he signed an executive order that removes Trump's ban on catch and release at the border. What could this mean for America's fight against COVID? Well, again, this is why this bill is so important because here we have the nation been under these pandemic restrictions.

And then to turn a blind eye to the fact that we would be allowing people into our country with no testing, with no known if they are carrying COVID or any other infectious disease. So we're putting the very people at risk that we've professed to try to protect over the last number of months. And that's, I think, where it becomes a very critical issue. We've all known or had loved ones or friends that have either become ill and lost their lives in some cases. So why would we want to even chance people coming into our nation illegally that have the COVID virus and can spread it? And we know it spreads so very easily. So this is really more of a health concern than any other thing, and especially being in, you know, lockdown for almost a year now.

I think we have to be very mindful of who we're allowing into the nation. Well, and speaking of that, you have been such a strong advocate of our border wall, but one of the very first actions that Biden took was ending funding for construction of the southern border wall. How is this going to impact America's border states specifically? Well, it's unfortunate because everybody knows that the wall has worked very well. It has given protections, not only to the communities that I represent, but it's a form of national security. We know it had slowed the traffic down across our borders, the illegal foot traffic. And so I'm very proud of the fact that myself, Congressman Comer and every member, Republican member of the Oversight Committee, We wrote a letter and sent it to President Biden just, in fact, yesterday or the day before requesting all documents and communication related to his unilateral decision to halt the construction.

And what people may not understand is just stopping the funding for the border wall, stopping that construction, that's going to be very costly to the American public. Because we are already, by contract, you know, we have contract agreements with a number of contractors. subcontractors along the border and throughout the country that are working on the fencing and the wall. Not to mention the products that are sitting there ready to be used. When I say products, I'm talking about the panels, the steel panels, and concrete, etc. And so just because you say no to this doesn't mean that we're not going to be caught holding the bag, if you will, because the American people are going to be on the hook for those contracts that we just unilaterally decide we don't want to be a part of anymore. And that's why we have contract agreements and safeguards in our nation under almost any circumstance you have repercussions for backing out of a contract.

So we'll have to see what the cost is to the American people. And that's why the Oversight Committee, under our leadership and with Congressman Comer, wanted to know we want to be able to see these documents that are relative to this halting the funding for the border wall and stopping construction. What are you hearing from your constituents back home in New Mexico as they're seeing the actions that President Biden has taken on the border wall and on immigration policies? Oh, they're very concerned. Again, you know, living in a border state that has over 180 miles of southern border, we were able to see physically a real downturn in the number of foot traffic. It's a very different place when you don't have those protections in play to protect your livestock, your farms, your family. families or communities, it's unsettling. And these are American citizens that are born and raised in America, pay taxes to the state

of New Mexico and the federal government, and to see that we're going to compromise the health and safety of our communities. And it won't just stop in those towns. It'll be expanded up into further into the nation. And we don't ever hear people talk about the drug cartel, the amount of drugs, the sex trafficking, the things unrelated to just border wall that have a profound effect on not only our state, but other states as well. And so there is grave concern because we have seen these efforts of President Trump administration work like the Title 42, the wall.

And now to have all of that yanked out from under these people that live in and around the border, it's unfortunate. And there's grave concern. The immigration path that the Biden administration really appears to be taking, where does that ultimately lead us as a nation? Well, I think that puts the nation in a little bit of unequal footing. I mean, clearly, this is going to make our borders way more porous, and we've worked very hard to ensure that the processing is done correctly, that people that want to come into our nation through the correct channels can do so in a process that is timely.

So this is signaling that we're going to essentially open our borders. And we have the opportunity to visit with the ambassador of Guatemala, of Honduras, and Mexico. last week, my office, we reached out to them, the ambassadors to have these conversations and discuss the immigration crises that could potentially be happening and start happening at our borders. It's about good relationships and building the relationships and continuing to allow these four nations to do what they need to do in their own countries to establish a viable economy because they're concerned about losing their workforce and the people that are coming here. And we have now, in my state, we have such a high percent of,

unemployment. I mean, so we're going to have to find a way to bridge that gap, but opening our borders or signaling that we are open and we're not having any kind of restrictance put on our on our crossings and on our ability to come into the nation. One, it's not fair to those that did wait in line and did go through the proper channels. And it really is an unfortunate message to the other countries of people trying to come here through the journey to get here is incredibly dangerous. And so I think we need to do a better job at our humanitarian effort and protecting those that are making that trek across multiple countries to get here. So regarding Title 42 and your work through the POS Act, what is next for your legislation?

Well, hopefully we'll get it into the committee hearings. I would want to see bipartisan support on this piece of legislation again. This piece of legislation is not political. It is truly about people. And it's about people, quite frankly, on both sides of the border. we need to protect the American citizen who has been in lockdown and been a victim of this pandemic, whether they had the disease, new, somebody who did, lost their job, lost their livelihood, but also protect those that are being held in close quarters so that we're not spreading this disease

just unilaterally back and forth, back and forth when we're finding now so many ways to find measures that can help the vaccine, for instance. We're ready to, we're ready to make sure that those that want the vaccine, have access to it, our health care workers, our police officers, our board patrol. So, you know, we're, to me, by not pushing this bill through, we've taken, you know, two steps forward with the Trump administration and now five steps backwards. Representative Harold, thank you so much for your time today. We really appreciate it. Awesome. Thank you so much. I appreciate your time and look forward to visiting again. We're all guilty of it. Spending too much time watching silly video.

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Thanks for sending us your letters to the editor. Each Monday we feature our favorites on this show. Virginia, who's up first? Becky Walker writes, Dear Daily Signal, tell every parent in every state. We have to stop the indoctrination of our schools. Big government is using this pandemic to take, take away our rights and break down the institutions of our great country.

People need to wake up. It all starts with educating your children. Follow Bob Woodson and the 1776 Project. That is where American history began. And Keith Smith writes, Dear Daily Signal, as a former military pilot, flight test pilot, and space operations test engineer, I have used and designed operations procedures for over 50 years.

As a senior citizen in Los Angeles County trying to schedule a COVID-19 vaccination, I can tell you that I have never seen a worse procedure to attempt to do a straightforward task. Everyone knew this was coming, but it seems no level of government was prepared to cope with it. Why? Your letter could be featured on next week's show, so send us an email at Letters at DailySignal.com. Do you have an interest in public policy? Do you want to hear some of the biggest names in American politics speak? The Heritage Foundation host webinars called Heritage Events Live.

These webinars are free and open to the public. To find the latest webinars and register, visit heritage.org slash events. Virginia, you have the opportunity to travel to Kenosha, Wisconsin last year, and you have a good news story to share with us from that community today. I'll turn it over to you. Thanks so much, Rob. That's right. So last year, I traveled to Kenosha, Wisconsin, and in,

October, the Daily Signal released a documentary from that trip that shared the story of the Good Taste ice cream shop, which is a sweet little shop that was located right in Uptown, Kenosha, and that shop was burned to the ground after the Jacob Blake shooting. It was engulfed in flames as riders really set the whole strip of shops and restaurants on fire. Raquel Santiago and her family lost more than 16 years. of hard work in one single night. They watched tragically as their family-owned business just burnt to the ground. And as Raquel told me, they couldn't save anything.

They just had to stand there and watch. And Raquel's father, who passed away in 2019, he originally started the business after immigrating to America from Mexico. And he handed the shop down to his children, which really only made the loss of the business during the riots that much more difficult, as Raquel told me. me. My father just leave us. He passed away last year. And this is emotional because that's his work. All he was dreaming for. All he was teaching us to do something good for the families. Yes. Raquel's sister Ruth shared with me last fall that they hoped to rebuild, but didn't know when that

would be possible because they still needed to find a new location and get the money to replace all the destroyed equipment. A lot of people help us. So we think we are rebuilding again. Not right now, but soon as possible. Through the help of nonprofits, community leaders, and a lot of generous individuals who donated to GoFundMe campaign for the ice cream shop, I'm so excited to announce that the Good Taste ice cream shop has reopened at its brand new location in Kodosha.

They had their reopening on Saturday, and they contact. me and just shared how excited they were and how thankful they were for all of the individuals who stepped up to help them and to really bring this dream back to life. The family-owned business is back up and running and, as they said, is stronger than ever. So if you ever happen to be in Kenosha, Wisconsin, be sure to check out the Good Taste Ice Cream Shop. Well, Virginia, thanks so much for doing that follow-up story and bringing us up to speed on where things are today. It's good to hear, for sure. It is good to hear, Rob. I think it's always good to know what is happening in the world and how businesses are being affected by, you know, of course,

the COVID-19 pandemic and the riots, but it's an even greater joy to get to share the good news at the end of the end of a long, hard road. Well, we're going to leave it there for the Daily Signal podcast. You can find us on the Rurkishay Audio Network and all of our shows are available at DailySignal.com slash podcasts. You can also subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app. And be sure to listen every weekday by adding the Daily Signal podcast as part of your Alexa Flashbriefing. If you like what you hear, please leave us a review and a five-star rating. It means a lot to us and helps us spread the word to other listeners.

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