U.S. Rep. Mike McCaul has gone on the offensive as he’s comes under increasing scrutiny from the hard right about his immigration credentials.
The Texas Republican, a contender to become Homeland Security secretary in the new Trump administration, penned an op-ed published on Fox News that outlines how he proposes to put Mexico on a “payment plan” to fulfill President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to build a border wall along the Mexico-U.S. border.
“There are many reasonable ways to do this,” he writes. “For starters, we can put in place new immigration fees from Mexico, institute a security toll at border crossings, ‘seize and freeze’ drug cartel assets, and more.”
We are going to build the wall. Period.
Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Tx.
McCaul, who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, has an incentive to come out strongly on immigration. Several hardline groups on immigration have argued that he’s not tough enough on the issue.
Last year, when the Trump campaign was just in its infancy, McCaul described Trump’s proposal of a border wall “kind of a simplistic” and a “kind of knee-jerk response.”
I asked @AnnCoulter today about her thoughts for @RepMcCaul as Homeland Security Secretary. Her response via email: "He’s Rubio in a dress."
— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) December 6, 2016
In 2013, Federation for American Immigration criticized McCaul’s border security legislation for being “cosmetic” and said it wouldn’t produce “tangible results in terms of improved border security.”
McCaul now says he wants the wall and has a way to pay for it. He adds that other Latin American countries should kick in.
“We are going to build the wall,” McCaul writes. “Period.”
Email: fordonez@mcclatchydc.com; Twitter: @francoordonez.
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