U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Florida, called out a Democratic witness for claiming some border security policies are racist.
At a U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security hearing this week on “A Country Without Borders,” Santa Cruz County, Arizona, Sheriff David Hathaway said “certain policies smack of racism,” including former President Donald Trump building a border wall and implementing the public health authority Title 42 policy.
He also said, “a wall was never suggested for the Canadian-U.S. border,” former President Ronald Reagan “was not a fan of walls,” and Title 42 “was never implemented aggressively at the northern border to keep foreigners from making claims.”
Hathaway, whose family has lived at the U.S.-Mexico border for generations, says his county “is peaceful and safe, … border areas are safe and we, the residents of border areas, don’t want to turn them into a police state or a war zone.”
“The vast majority of people coming to the U.S. are coming to work. It is disingenuous to conflate people coming to work with drug dealers or criminals,” he added. He also repeated a claim made by some Democrats and media outlets that “migrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans. They are also less likely to go on welfare or to receive public assistance than native-born Americans.”
In response, Gimenez said, “I believe that immigration should be legal immigration. I disagree with illegal immigration” and asked Hathaway: “Do you think I’m a racist?”
Hathaway said, “no, when we talk about the ballot proposition…” and was cut off by Gimenez, who said, “I’m asking you about me. Do you think I’m a racist because I believe in legal immigration and not illegal immigration?”
Hathaway said that illegal immigrants “speak Spanish. They have Hispanic last names, Hispanic characteristics. It’s been that way for hundreds of years.”
“So you believe I’m a racist because I believe it should be legal immigration. Do you know who I am? Do you know what my name is? Do you know where I come from? I come from Cuba. I’m an immigrant,” Gimenez said.
“What if I were to tell you that 53% of registered Hispanics believe in mass deportation. Are they racist too?” Gimenez asked.
“No,” Hathaway replied.
“What I find offensive is that anytime we disagree, you turn to the racist card,” Gimenez said. “No, we just disagree. We believe in the rule of law. Actually, Hispanics do believe in the rule of law. The majority of us believe in legal immigration. We don’t believe in illegal immigration. I’m an immigrant myself. I love this country.”
In response to Hathaway repeating his border wall racism claim, Gimenez said, “Oh, so you’re still saying that we are racist. You’re doubling down on it. Go ahead, tell me I’m a racist.”
“Certain suggested policies have a racist tone,” Hathaway said, but was cut off by Gimenez who said, “Yeah, of course, because we don’t agree with what you think.”
Hathaway and Gimenez continued to talk over each other and Gimenez said, “You’re still calling me a racist.”
“We’re talking about policy with racist tendencies,” Hathaway, a white man, said.
“I’m Hispanic!” Gimenez said. “You’re not. So, I take offense to that.”
Hathaway’s claim regarding Title 42 contradicts CBP data showing that Title 42 was enforced at the US-Canada border under both the Trump and Biden administrations.
Hathaway’s claims about Spanish-speaking illegal border crossers contradicts CBP demographics showing they’ve come from over 160 countries since fiscal 2021. The majority of languages represented from these countries are not Spanish-speaking.
Contrary to Hathaway’s claims, CBP officials and federal audits have repeatedly shown that illegal border crossers aren’t being vetted and violent criminals are being released into the country. Federal and state data also shows that noncitizens are overwhelmingly enrolled in a wide range of public welfare programs.
Northern border apprehensions continue to break records. In the busiest sector this year, 15,000 illegal border crossers arrived from 85 countries in less than 10 months, something that has never happened before. The majority are not Hispanic, Spanish speaking or even Canadian, although a record number of Canadians illegally entered the U.S. under the Biden-Harris administration.
The greatest number of individuals on the terrorist watch list have also been apprehended at the US-Canadian border, The Center Square first reported—under the Trump and Biden administrations. The US-Canada border poses a national security threat, national security experts have told The Center Square, saying greater security measures are needed.
Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act into law in 1986. It increased border security, expanded surveillance, authorized funding to hire more agents and made it illegal for the first time in U.S. history for an employer to hire an illegal foreign national. It is well documented that Reagan supported legal immigration.
