GOP Sen. Susan Collins in a series of tweets on Thursday called the conditions at the southern border and the “huge influx” of migrants a “crisis.” But her tweets were met with fierce backlash for suddenly “caring” about migrant children while ignoring the crisis under the Trump administration.
“I spent the last 3 hours with Border Patrol on night shift in McAllen, TX,” Collins tweeted. “18 Senators learning about the huge influx, 3,000 people per day, including unaccompanied children, illegally entering.”
“Mexican cartels control who crosses the border. A young mother from Guatemala, sitting on an aluminum blanket with her 1-year-old, told me she paid smugglers $6,000,” Collins said.
“Border Patrol is overwhelmed, overworked, & discouraged by new policies,” she added. “Agents took us through a dangerous path to the Rio Grande where we could hear the Cartel members taunting us across the river,” said Collins. “Human trafficking, child abuse, & drug smuggling are rampant. This is a crisis.”
While Republicans are arguing the influx of migrants is due to Biden’s policies, Democrats are saying this is a normal influx because it is safer to cross the border in the spring due to the desert temperatures not being too hot.
Biden at his first press conference as president on Thursday said the situation was unacceptable but said the wave of migrants wasn’t happening because he’s “a nice guy.”
“I’d like to think it’s because I’m a nice guy, but it’s not,” Biden said. “It happens every year.”
The Biden administration has had to open up six facilities in the past month in order to accommodate the number of migrants crossing the border. Three of those sites are dedicated to housing unaccompanied children.
Read Sen. Collins’s tweets and some of the responses below.
Mexican cartels control who crosses the border. A young mother from Guatemala, sitting on an aluminum blanket with her 1-year-old, told me she paid smugglers $6,000.
— Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins) March 26, 2021
You never gave a shit about this 2016-2020. Stop with the false narrative.
— Kate (@krfcarter) March 26, 2021
So much interest all of a sudden. Get back to your seat and get this fixed. And put some of your concern into racist voters laws being past.
— mfd (@girldesigning79) March 26, 2021
Something @SenatorCollins WON'T tweet about.
Wonder why.
"Intelligence Report Says Russia Tried To Help Trump In 2020 Election."
— Frank Amari (@FrankAmari2) March 26, 2021
Have you spent any time trying to understand WHY people are so desperate to come here? Perhaps look into that, too. Maybe you'll go from scared of them to "concerned" for them.
— Lynne Nelson (@Ljtnelson) March 26, 2021
Same thing very year but it’s only a crisis when a D is in office.
You’ve been in senate for a long time and could have attempted to fix it. You’ve failed!— andrew simon (@simes57) March 26, 2021
Did the 18 senators stay up until 1am when innocent children were ripped from their parents arms under the Trump administration? Some of whom have never been returned to their parents.
— Debbie Lynn💃🏻(Mom)💙🇺🇸 (@DebbieZ07) March 26, 2021
How many times did you go down there during the last Administration? What did you say and do about it then @SenatorCollins ?
— Kobismom (@dchill96) March 26, 2021
Weird that you weren’t at the border for the past 4 years, Senator. You were just “deeply troubled and concerned”. I wonder what changed…🤔
— Christian Alvarez (@ThorstenBolin) March 26, 2021
Hers a thought Susan. Why doesn’t the legislative branch actually legislate. This has been going on for decades and nothing has been done. This is a prime example of why we need TERM LIMITS.
— OneNationUnderGod (@RenewUSA2020) March 26, 2021
Maybe you should ask your Senator to demand Senate action on immigration reform. Who’s your Senator?
— Academic Resisted (@AcademicResist) March 26, 2021
Mexican cartels armed with illegally trafficked guns from the U.S. Perhaps we deal with that border crisis, the iron river of guns flowing to Latin America, then so many families wouldn't be fleeing for their lives.
— Andy Kang (@andykangjustice) March 26, 2021
But you were ok with children in cages when the former guy was in office?
— Aunt NayNay (@saynaenay) March 26, 2021
