Black Republican slams Dems who called him RACIST for calling migrant crisis an ‘invasion’

A black Republican lawmaker dismissed claims that the GOP is “racist” for focusing its efforts on securing the southern border, claiming Democrats too often use racism as a “scapegoat.”

During questioning at Wednesday’s Judiciary Committee hearing on the South Border Crisis, Rep. Wesley Hunt stepped into the defense after the senior Democrat member accused pro-MAGA Republicans of being “racist.”

He also responded to El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego, the Democrats’ only witness for the hearing, who denied there had been an “invasion” at the border, as the left calls that classification racist.

“I’ve been black for a long time, sir, so I get it. And I’ve been a minority in this country for a very long time,” said Representative Hunt. “But this isn’t really about race, it’s actually a matter of public safety.”

Hunt, 41, is a newly minted legislator for Texas’ 38th congressional district, which is a district in the Houston area, and came out with guns blazing at the first hearing of the 118th Congress’ Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

New GOP Representative Wesley Hunt of Texas attacked Democrats who claim calling the southern border crisis an “invasion” is “racist” during the first Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday

“If I call this an ‘invasion,’ sir, I’m not a racist. I can assure you I’m not a racist,” Hunt said. “What I can assure you is that I want to make sure that fentanyl doesn’t kill race, religion, color or creed indiscriminately. Because Fentanyl doesn’t care where you’re from, Fentanyl doesn’t care about race. Fentanyl kills indiscriminately.”

Senior Member Jerry Nadler said during his opening remarks at the hearing that Republicans’ obsession with the southern border was “racist.”

“I wish this committee would start on a different note,” Nadler lamented at the beginning of his remarks. “Unfortunately, this hearing has more of the same haphazard, chaotic style that we’ve come to expect from this new Republican majority.”

“The first hearing will expose the racist tendencies of the extreme Republican wing of the MAGA party trying to close the border to refugees from places like Cuba and Venezuela,” he noted.

“I almost miss her usual obsession with conspiracy theories and the FBI,” the New York lawmaker quipped. “I suspect this hearing is also an attempt to distract from the fact that the majority of Republicans haven’t passed meaningful legislation in their first month.”

Hunt said Democrats need to be more careful about arbitrarily labeling everything “racist.”

“And the reason we have to be careful about what we call racist and what we consider racist going forward is that we’re starting to lose focus on the real issue,” the GOP official said.

“Unfortunately, this government and Democratic Party uses race as a scapegoat for everything,” he noted. “And as someone who wants to make sure we attack racial issues when they arise, we can’t be the boy who’s been crying wolf and blaming racism all along.”

“I’m here to hold this government accountable, to understand that there are racial issues that need to be addressed and, sir, this is not one of them,” he addressed Judge Samaniego.

Jerry Nadler, a member of the Democratic rankings team, said during his opening remarks, “I wish this committee would start on a different note… The first hearing will reveal the racist tendencies of the extreme Republican wing of the MAGA Party trying to shut down the border.” refugees

Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan addressed the border crisis during the committee’s first hearing at the 118th Congress.

The GOP hearing promises to use its power in the lower chamber to hold President Joe Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas accountable for the border crisis.

This was further proven when panel member Andy Biggs, an Arizona representative, launched impeachment proceedings against Mayorkas on Wednesday afternoon.

“The dam broke, and it’s pretty obvious,” Hunt said of the border crisis.

The December numbers showed a brand new all-time high in southern border concerns at 251,487 in the only winter month that conditions in the Texas and Arizona deserts reached freezing temperatures.

The latest numbers as January numbers are weeks away, surpassing the last high from May 2022, even under Biden’s lead.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has encountered more than 4.5 million migrants at the southern border since Biden took office in January 2021, Jordan noted in his remarks at Wednesday’s hearing.

Figures released for December show the number of encounters at the southern border continues to rise – hitting a new all-time high in a month at 251,487

He also mentioned several other numbers since the beginning of Biden’s presidency. The list includes the 1.7 million illegal migrants released into the US; the average of 8,100 encounters per day on the southwestern border in December; the 1.1 million known getaways; and the exact annual high was reached in 2022 with 2,378,944 encounters.

Jordan said several records were set in FY2022, including 856 migrants who died attempting to cross the southern border and the 98 aliens encountered in terror monitoring.

Despite the staggering rate of encounters, Biden and Mayorkas have reassured the southern border is closed, insisting their policies are working and refusing to admit there is a crisis at the US-Mexico border.