Rep. Tom Suozzi is taking a leading role on an issue he made a centerpiece of his campaign to replace George Santos: border security. 

The Queens and Nassau County Democrat was named co-chair of a newly launched Democratic task force on Capitol Hill, focused on the issue, which continues to stymie lawmakers. 

“Everybody knows the border’s a problem,” Suozzi said at a press conference Tuesday. 

What You Need To Know

  • Rep. Tom Suozzi was named co-chair of a newly launched Democratic task force on Capitol Hill, focused on border security
  • On the campaign trail, Suozzi tried to reverse the tables on Republicans, who have been blaming Democrats for the surge in migrant crossings. Suozzi argued Republicans offer talk, not solutions.

  • The new task force wants to see the Senate border deal crafted by a bipartisan cohort of lawmakers advance
  • House Republicans continue to call for a more restrictive border bill than the compromise crafted by a bipartisan group of Senators, while arguing that President Joe Biden has powers he could lean on

On the campaign trail, Suozzi tried to reverse the tables on Republicans, who have been blaming Democrats for the surge in migrant crossings. Suozzi argued Republicans offer talk, not solutions. 

It is a message Democrats are adopting ahead of November’s election. 

“Democrats have embraced this issue and recognized we must address the border crisis,” Suozzi said. “The people want this solved.”

“There’s a bipartisan compromise in place that will solve this problem, and it's only being sabotaged by outside political forces - President [Donald] Trump - coming in … saying, ‘Don’t solve the problem, we want to run on the chaos,’” he continued.

The new task force wants to see the Senate-crafted border deal advance, and say they will pressure House leaders demanding action. The bill so far has not gotten out of the Senate, amid opposition from Trump.

House Republicans continue to call for a more restrictive border bill, while arguing that President Joe Biden has powers he could lean on. 

“He can reinstate Remain in Mexico, end catch and release. He can make changes to asylum and parole, he shut down the border altogether if he wants to,” Staten Island Rep. Nicole Malliotakis said. 

Suozzi said executive action alone will not cut it. 

“The only way you’re going to resolve this issue of the border crisis is going to be to have more border agents, more immigration judges, more detention beds, and speed up the asylum process … that requires law by the United States Congress,” he said. 

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers, meanwhile, continues to work on their own border and foreign aid package. 

Suozzi said if those lawmakers add humanitarian aid to their proposal for military assistance, it could have a big impact on how much support it receives.