Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib was the sole vote against the Subterranean Border Defense Act, a bill that would combat cross-border tunnels made by Mexican drug cartels.
The bill, introduced by Arizona Republican Rep. Elijah Crane, would allow for annual reports to Congress about illicit efforts to build tunnels across the southern border.
The proposal passed 402 to 1 on Monday, with Tlaib, a member of the progressive “squad,” casting the sole vote against the measure, according to a report from Fox News. Her office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Fox reported.
Crane said during a brief floor debate, during which no lawmakers rose in opposition to his bill, that “since 1990, officials have discovered more than 140 tunnels that have breached the U.S. border with an 80 percent increase in tunnel activity occurring since 2008.”
“With border crossings thankfully going down since January, I think it’s safe to assume this will drive threats to our border underground through these tunnels,” Crane added, according to Fox.
The lawmaker said in a statement after the passage of the Subterranean Border Defense Act that the move was “a massive win for our security.”
“This legislation will ensure Congress has sufficient knowledge and oversight in regard to this dynamic threat,” Crane said.
The vote marks a rare show of bipartisanship in today’s Congress, with an increasing number of Democrats feeling pressure on border security from their constituents.
Tlaib is often against the side of common sense in her votes.
But this particular move was especially brazen.
This bill would not even have allocated resources or set forth a specific strategy for combating drug cartel tunnel activity at the border.
It would merely recognize that tunnels are a problem and set forth a tool for Congress to receive basic information about the issue.
The vast majority of House Democrats recognized that such a bill marked an obvious move toward preventing illicit activity at the border.
To be clear, there are many Democrats who are still terrible on the border and immigration issue.
Most of the Democrats in the House and the Senate voted against the Laken Riley Act, which requires the Department of Homeland Security to detain illegal aliens charged with crimes like theft and assault of a police officer, or any offense that results in death or serious bodily harm.
But Tlaib stood alone in this particular vote.
It’s absolutely inexcusable for a lawmaker to be so malicious or moronic that she votes to keep cartel tunnels open at the southern border.
Tlaib, for whatever reason, categorically refuses to vote in the interests of the American people, and therefore has no business remaining in government.
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