A Republican congressman whose district covers more than 800 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border opposes the Trump administration’s plan to raise tariffs on Mexican goods in the name of border security. He thinks he has a better solution.
President Trump’s 5% tariffs on all Mexican imports are scheduled to begin on June 10. Congressman Will Hurd thinks the policy will punish the U.S. more than Mexico.
“When you raise tariffs you are creating a tax on the American people, and the American consumer should not be the one having to pay for the border security issue,” Hurd said.
Hurd has prepared a plan to reform the U.S. asylum system, first created under the Reagan administration.
He introduced stricter guidelines like requiring asylum seekers to enter at an official port of entry.
Hurd’s plan, named the Asylum Reform Act of 2019, would also prevent migrants from seeking asylum in the U.S. unless asylum requests were denied by both Canada and Mexico.
The plan would also attempt to incorporate third party countries willing relocate asylum seekers.
He hopes this will cut down on the number of illegal crossings. In May according to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, there were 109,000 illegal crossings on the U.S. – Mexico border.
Ryan Poppe can be reached at RPoppe@TPR.org and on Twitter at @RyanPoppe1.
Copyright 2019 Texas Public Radio
