South Dakota leaders are reacting to President Biden's executive order restricting asylum at the southern border.
The state has been active at the southern border crisis, spending over $2 million in aid from its emergency fund.
Sen. John Thune said Biden's order is nothing more than a political ploy for his presidential campaign,
“It is disturbing that it’s taking the fear of losing an election to motivate the president to take action on a national security crisis that has raged for more than three years. It raises serious questions about how long the president’s interest in border security will last. If he wins another term, will he still care about the border? Or does it take an election to keep him motivated about his National Security responsibilities?” Thune said.
Sen. Mike Rounds called the move “too little, too late.”
Gov. Kristi Noem called the order “ridiculous” and claims it still allows 1-million illegal immigrants to enter the country every year.
Although not all Democrats are on board with the order, party leadership is saying that Republicans are making this more of a campaign issue than about creating legislation.
Earlier in the year Republicans struck down a bipartisan bill in the Senate after former president Donald Trump opposed the measure.
