Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., told Newsmax Saturday that President Joe Biden engaged in "gaslighting" during his State of the Union address.
"This was the gaslighting of the union — not the state of the union — for the president to stand there and try to blame Republicans for his failed border policies," Malliotakis said on "Saturday Report."
"I always take the opportunity to illuminate the reality of what's occurring here," she said.
"He has the authority right under Immigration and Nationality Act sections 1182 and 1225. Under those two sections, he can actually adjust parole and asylum; he can shut down the border completely. He could reinstate Remain in Mexico. He could end 'catch and release.'
"Sadly, he used the discretion that he has under that law to totally dismantle the border, to do the exact opposite," she continued.
"That is why when he was walking down the aisle entering the chamber, I stopped him and said he needed to secure the border — because Americans were dying, and he had to use the same authority he used to dismantle it. He can put it back together, and he should do so."
Malliotakis said Biden knows most Americans dislike his border policy.
"He knows it's very unpopular with the American people, so he's got to try to point fingers," she said.
"But they're doing this by design. They've allowed 10 million people in. They're allowing the drug cartels to be enriched because every person is paying thousands of dollars.
"In fact, that was probably the only honest statement we heard regarding the border is when he said each person who's coming over the border is paying the cartels $8,000. But he is incentivizing it."
Laken Riley, 22, has emerged as a symbol of immigration reform among conservatives.
A nursing student at the Augusta University College of Nursing, Riley was found beaten to death Feb. 22 on the University of Georgia campus after she went out for a run. Jose Antonio Ibarra, who was in the U.S. illegally, was arrested on murder and assault charges in connection to her death.
"Let's be clear," Malliotakis said. "Laken Riley would be alive today if our president did not change parole and give that individual parole to enter our country and if [former New York City Mayor] Bill de Blasio didn't change the sanctuary laws in New York in 2014 that tied the hands of the NYPD, prohibit individuals who commit crimes from being deported. It's those two individuals, right?
"These are the Democratic policies of the local government and the federal government. That's the reason why Laken Riley is not alive today," she added.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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