If you were told that a prominent governor said that we need “a limit on who can come across the border” and that the border “is too open right now,” you would probably guess it was a Republican, such as Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX).
But those quotes are courtesy of the Democratic governor of New York, proving again that Abbott and other GOP governors busing illegal immigrants to Democratic-run states was a masterclass that changed the course of the immigration debate.
INCOMING CALIFORNIA SEN. LAPHONZA BUTLER'S ADDRESS SHOWS HER LIVING IN MARYLAND
In the same CBS appearance where Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) offered those quotes, she also said that the government could put “quotas” on the number of people coming into the country. She complained that “people coming from all over the world” were gaining entry with illegitimate asylum claims and that too many are ending up on New York’s streets. She even called for doubling or quadrupling the number of Border Patrol agents.
NEW: NY Gov Kathy Hochul calls for “a limit on who can come across the border.”
— Adam Shaw (@AdamShawNY) October 1, 2023
“It is too open right now,” she says.
This clashes strongly with the Biden administration — which has repeatedly claimed the border is not open.pic.twitter.com/O1ovFRLiJ7
It’s a far cry from the “Abolish ICE” mantra promoted by several New York Democrats over the past few years. Hochul runs the second biggest state of any Democrat and is arguably the second most prominent Democratic governor in the country, and her opinions on illegal immigration are becoming increasingly indistinguishable from that of your typical Republican.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Abbott deserves a lot of credit for that, as do Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and former Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey. The decision to bus illegal immigrants to Democratic areas and essentially re-create the border crisis (on a still much smaller scale than border states are actually dealing with) has brought prominent Democrats such as Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams to call for more border restrictions and more Border Patrol agents.
The Right has managed to drastically change the discourse on immigration more so than on any other issue in recent years and done so more rapidly than could have been imagined five years ago. At this rate, it may not be much longer before Democratic politicians are leading chants of “build the wall.”