Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) faces Arkansas voters in a few weeks, and he spoke with the Washington Reporter about why President Donald Trump’s successes on securing America’s southern border are critical to both his constituents and to the rest of America.
Cotton’s remarks come as Arkansans are preparing to head to the polls, and as his Democratic opponent, Hallie Shoffner, takes the opposite tack on this issue. The Reporter previously covered that Shoffner “would trade five Americans for one” illegal immigrant worker.
Cotton disagrees; for years, he has described the economic consequences of illegal immigration, which he explained to the Reporter. “At any given point in time, America has a finite number of resources,” Cotton noted. “A certain number of homes, jobs, emergency room doctors, police officers, etc. Whenever an illegal alien uses one of those resources, there’s less available for Arkansans — and what is available is often more expensive. During the Biden administration, up to 16 million illegal aliens entered the country. That’s more than five times the population of my state. That huge influx put a large strain on the housing supply across the country, which increased the rent prices and home prices.”
“Illegal immigration also puts pressure on jobs,” Cotton added. “Democrats will tell you that ‘there aren’t Americans willing to do XYZ jobs’ and so we must rely on illegal labor. But of course they are leaving out the second half of that sentence, which is ‘at current wages.’ The fewer illegal aliens in the country, the fewer illegal aliens there are to undercut wage growth for Arkansans. Illegal immigration also strains our public resources. When emergency rooms are clogged with illegal aliens, Americans have poorer access to healthcare. The same is true of our police force, government programs, and anything else with a relatively fixed supply.”
While Cotton is expected to handily defeat Shoffner in November, he explained why the vision of anti-border security Democrats is directly harmful to his constituents in Arkansas. “ICE protects the lives of innocent Arkansans from illegal, criminal aliens who shouldn’t be here in the first place,” Cotton said. “The left refuses to acknowledge the facts of illegal alien crime, but examples are everywhere you look. Take Victor Flores-Alvaregna, who was arrested in Pine Bluff for drug trafficking. Or Steven Ramei in Fayetteville, who exposed himself to children. Or Angel Paredes-Quito, who was arrested in Forrest City and had sexually assaulted minors. In at least three separate occasions in the last two years, illegal aliens have also killed Arkansans while driving drunk on our roads, with the last being in March of this year. Without ICE to arrest and deport these criminals, even more innocent Arkansans and their children would fall victim to their crimes.”
Cotton also cautioned about what would happen should Democrats retake the House, Senate, or White House — and the damage that could cause once again to the American economy.
“We don’t have to guess or imagine” what that would look like, Cotton said. “We got a preview of it during the Biden administration, when 16 million illegal aliens came into the county. Americans lost their lives, drugs poured over the border, and prices went up. And that was just the damage done by a reckless Democrat administration. The damage would be far worse under unified Democratic government. You’ve seen the platform of Democratic Socialists, the new leaders of the Democrat Party. They’re promising to defund ICE, grant mass amnesty, completely open border, and let illegal aliens vote in our elections. If Democrats ever again have unified government, all hell will break loose, and innocent Americans will pay the price.”
Cotton also singled out Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) in particular for criticism due to the latter’s push to shut down detention centers and to defund ICE itself more broadly.
Cotton told the Reporter that “it’s a shocking abandonment of their primary responsibility to keep Americans safe” when lawmakers like Durbin advocate for soft-on-crime border policies. “This year,” Cotton continued, “Democrats in the Senate voted more than a dozen times to keep the Department of Homeland Security shut down to try and stop ICE from doing their jobs. Think about that. They forced Americans to miss flights, exposed Americans to cyber attacks and terrorism, and withheld paychecks from American citizens — all to protect criminal illegal aliens.”
“It’s truly insane,” Cotton said.
Below is a transcript of our interview with Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.), lightly edited for clarity.
Washington Reporter:
Why is ICE important in Arkansas?
Sen. Tom Cotton:
ICE protects the lives of innocent Arkansans from illegal, criminal aliens who shouldn’t be here in the first place. The left refuses to acknowledge the facts of illegal alien crime, but examples are everywhere you look. Take Victor Flores-Alvaregna, who was arrested in Pine Bluff for drug trafficking. Or Steven Ramei in Fayetteville, who exposed himself to children. Or Angel Paredes-Quito, who was arrested in Forrest City and had sexually assaulted minors. In at least three separate occasions in the last two years, illegal aliens have also killed Arkansans while driving drunk on our roads, with the last being in March of this year. Without ICE to arrest and deport these criminals, even more innocent Arkansans and their children would fall victim to their crimes.
Washington Reporter:
What do you think about the defund ICE Democrats, like Sen. Dick Durbin who want to shut down detention centers and defund ICE?
Sen. Tom Cotton:
It’s a shocking abandonment of their primary responsibility to keep Americans safe. This year, Democrats in the Senate voted more than a dozen times to keep the Department of Homeland Security shut down to try and stop ICE from doing their jobs. Think about that. They forced Americans to miss flights, exposed Americans to cyber attacks and terrorism, and withheld paychecks from American citizens — all to protect criminal illegal aliens. It’s truly insane.
Washington Reporter:
You have said that illegal immigration is an economic issue — what do you mean?
Sen. Tom Cotton:
At any given point in time, America has a finite number of resources. A certain number of homes, jobs, emergency room doctors, police officers, etc. Whenever an illegal alien uses one of those resources, there’s less available for Arkansans — and what is available is often more expensive. During the Biden administration, up to 16 million illegal aliens entered the country. That’s more than five times the population of my state. That huge influx put a large strain on the housing supply across the country, which increased the rent prices and home prices. Illegal immigration also puts pressure on jobs. Democrats will tell you that “there aren’t Americans willing to do XYZ jobs” and so we must rely on illegal labor. But of course they are leaving out the second half of that sentence, which is “at current wages.” The fewer illegal aliens in the country, the fewer illegal aliens there are to undercut wage growth for Arkansans. Illegal immigration also strains our public resources. When emergency rooms are clogged with illegal aliens, Americans have poorer access to healthcare. The same is true of our police force, government programs, and anything else with a relatively fixed supply.
Washington Reporter:
What type of damage could the Democrats do to the border if they take back power?
Sen. Tom Cotton:
We don’t have to guess or imagine. We got a preview of it during the Biden administration, when 16 million illegal aliens came into the county. Americans lost their lives, drugs poured over the border, and prices went up. And that was just the damage done by a reckless Democrat administration. The damage would be far worse under unified Democratic government. You’ve seen the platform of Democratic Socialists, the new leaders of the Democrat Party. They’re promising to defund ICE, grant mass amnesty, completely open border, and let illegal aliens vote in our elections. If Democrats ever again have unified government, all hell will break loose, and innocent Americans will pay the price.
