(CNS News) — Sen. Chuck Grassley (R.-Iowa), the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told CNSNews.com on Wednesday that U.S.-Mexico border is “absolutely not” secure.

“You can’t be a secure, sovereign nation if you have an open border,” Grassley said.

“The president of the United States ought to uphold the law, and he’s inviting violation of the law,” said Grassley.

At the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, CNS News asked the senator, “Should illegal aliens be given a pathway to citizenship?”

Senator Grassley said, “That would have to be part of a comprehensive piece of legislation. If you’re asking me just cold out as a separate issue, should they have a path to citizenship, the answer is no. But when you’re negotiating a bipartisan piece of legislation, what you call comprehensive immigration, that could be a part of it.”

“But I would say it would be a pathway that would be fairly long and you can’t have criminal activity and they have to pay all their taxes,” he said.

In a follow-up question, CNS News asked, “And is our southwestern border secure now?”

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Senator Grassley said, “Oh, absolutely not. We have an open border. You can’t be a secure, sovereign nation if you have an open border. No, they, we had — we were on a path to having a secure border, when you build a fence, and the fence should have been completed.”

He continued, “And I was down there three months ago and the Border Patrol told us that they were called in to advise a transition team before Biden was president, and they were asked what to do about the border.

“The Border Patrol said, ‘Just leave things alone. If you want to bring people in the country, bring them in in an orderly way.’ And then they said they didn’t do it. So on January 20th, they just opened the border up and invited people in. That’s not right.”

“The president of the United States ought to uphold the law, and he’s inviting violation of the law,” said Senator Grassley.

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Senate Democrats are pursuing a pathway to citizenship for an estimated 8 million illegal aliens, or “undocumented immigrants,” as part of a $3.5 trillion budget resolution aimed at achieving many items on President Joe Biden’s agenda. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has said they will act on the resolution before the extended August recess.

As part of the broad economic package, the Senate Judiciary Committee was charged with crafting a $120-billion bill for “making improvements on U.S. ports of entry, clearing out a backlog of visa applications, or other changes,” a Senate Democratic aide working closely on the plan told Bloomberg News. There was no mention of any funds going towards border security.

“Of the 8 million immigrants that Democrats want to aid in the economic package, 3 million would be young, undocumented immigrants known as ‘Dreamers,’ migrant workers, and some with ‘temporary protected status’ because dangerous conditions present risks, if they return to their home countries, the aide said,” according to Bloomberg News. “The other 5 million would be ‘essential workers’ who have yet to be defined.”

This immigration piece apparently is becoming increasingly crucial for the Senate Democrats to secure, as several House Democrats have said they will not support the larger economic package unless it is included.

Source: https://www.cnsnews.com/article/washington/elisabeth-nieshalla/sen-grassley-us-mexico-border-absolutely-not-secure-its-open

The post Sen. Grassley: ‘You Can’t Be a Secure, Sovereign Nation If You Have an Open Border’ first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The biggest trade deal of all time, the pact encompasses more than $1.3 trillion of commerce. While winning enough votes to pass in the Republican-led Senate was anticlimactic after months of modifications by the Democratically-controlled House, it delivers on Trump’s 2016 campaign promise to overhaul the Clinton-era North American Free Trade Agreement that he called a “disaster.”

The vote was 89 senators in favor, with 10 opposed.

A day earlier, the president and a Chinese official signed an initial trade accord between their countries, cooling tensions in a nearly two-year trade war.

“Adding together USMCA and the China deal, that’s over $2 trillion of trade,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on Thursday. “That’s an enormous number.”

THE 10 SENATORS WHO VOTED AGAINST USMCA

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., with Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and other senator. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

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The USMCA, which has already been ratified by Mexico but not by Canada, requires 75 percent of automobile components be manufactured in the United States, Canada and Mexico in order to avoid tariffs. By 2023, some 40 to 45 percent of automobile parts must be made by workers who earn at least $16 an hour.

US, CHINA SIGN HISTORIC PHASE ONE TRADE DEAL

The pact is expected to create 80,000 new jobs tied to the auto industry and bring in up to $30 billion of new investment in the sector. The USMCA will also provide new access to American wheat, poultry and eggs, among other things.

“This is a major achievement for President Trump and a very big win for the American people,” said Sen. Charles Grassley, chairman of the finance committee. “I look forward to signing this bill and sending it to the president’s desk.”

When it’s all said and done, the trade pact could boost U.S. gross domestic product by up to 1.2 percentage points and create as many as 589,000 jobs, according to the International Trade Commission.

Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y. voted no. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

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Coupled with the 0.5 percentage-point boost expected from Wednesday’s passage of the phase one trade deal with China, U.S. gross domestic product may come close to the 4 percent growth that Trump suggested was possible during his 2016 presidential campaign.

Trump’s economy has topped that mark once already. U.S. GDP growth hit 4.2 percent in the second quarter of 2018, receiving a tailwind from the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which lowered the top corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent and cut taxes for many Americans. The U.S. economy grew at a 2.1 percent pace in the third quarter of 2019, the most recent period for which figures were available.

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“We have what is really the absolute gold standard on digital trade and financial services, stuff that has never been done before,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo in December, adding that the USMCA will be the “template” for new trade agreements going forward.

Source: https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/usmca-thumbs-up-hands-trump-victory

The post USMCA thumbs-up from Senate hands Trump second trade victory first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.