My plea to President Biden on migrants and debt: Congressman Mike Lawler

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-17th District) met with President Biden on Wednesday. He writes this open letter:

Dear Mr. President,

First, let me again say thank you for inviting me today and taking the time to speak with me privately prior to your speech.

As we discussed then, I encourage you to move past the divisive rhetoric around the debt ceiling debate and instead seek common ground with Speaker McCarthy on how to responsibly rein in long-term spending, while ensuring we do not default on our already incurred debt.

I understand there are issues we will not agree on, but we need bipartisan compromise now, not more partisan finger-pointing.

In addition, during our meeting, you indicated support for addressing the crisis at our Southern Border.

With Title 42 having expired, reports indicate a surge of migrants approaching the border that will add to a crisis that has seen New York City take in over 60,000 migrants and — despite their “sanctuary city” status — come to the realization that they can’t handle the influx.

This has caused such strain that Mayor Eric Adams is now busing migrants into the Hudson Valley.

He has done so without jurisdiction, without coordinating with municipal officials, or having any long term plan to resolve the crisis.

This is not a tenable situation.

I urge you to work with House Republicans to secure our border and begin the necessary work of creating a bipartisan immigration reform plan to fix this once and for all.

As the husband of an immigrant who came to this country in search of economic opportunity and a better life, I understand why so many migrants are coming here — we have the greatest country in the world — but we cannot let this broken system continue to fuel a humanitarian crisis that has been ignored for far too long..

You have an opportunity, sir, to extend an olive branch to Speaker McCarthy and work with our Republican Conference to find common ground. I know, for one, that is what my constituents want to see from their elected leaders.

I hope you agree.