Biden-Harris border policies 'a joke,' Rep. Monica De La Cruz says

Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz from Texas said in an interview with ABC News Tuesday that she believes Donald Trump’s border policies influenced voters in the 2024 election, and that securing the U.S. border must be a priority.

De La Cruz has won a second term in the historically blue Rio Grande Valley and, similar to President-elect Donald Trump, she campaigned on a platform focused on securing the border.

She says the current policy from the Biden-Harris administration is ineffective, leading to chaos at the borders and increased insecurity in U.S. neighborhoods.

ABC News spoke with De La Cruz about protecting the border for the next four years.

ABC NEWS: Want to get insight from a lawmaker who knows the issues along the border very well. Representative Monica De La Cruz represents a South Texas district along the U.S.-Mexico border. She's a Republican and just secured a second term in the historically blue Rio Grande Valley. Congresswoman, thank you so much for talking with us. What's your reaction to the appointments that we've learned about so far?

MONICA DE LA CRUZ: Well, the appointments are exciting and Trump is hitting the ground running, wasting no more time. The first 100 days in Congress and in his presidency, he expects us to get to work and so do the American people. And that is why we were planning so quickly right now so that we have a quick, fast 100 days where the American people see results from their votes.

ABC NEWS: And you campaigned on a platform focused on securing the border. What would you like to see specifically from a Trump administration?

DE LA CRUZ: Well, earlier this year, we passed HR2, the Secure the Border Act, the most comprehensive and conservative legislation ever passed by the House of Representatives. We want to see that come into law.

Coming in the 119th Congress, we're going to have the Senate, the White House and the House. Thus, I believe that we will finally be able to do what the American people want us to do, which is to secure the border and to reform legal immigration.

ABC NEWS: Is there anything in the current border policy that you think is working that you might want to see continue?

DE LA CRUZ: The current policy from the Biden-Harris administration is a joke. It is reckless. It is open borders. It has caused chaos at the borders and made our neighborhoods unsafe. This is why Hispanics made a loud message last week. They said, not in my name. No more open policies, no more reckless, open border policies by the Biden administration.

It's time that these D.C. elites stop that reckless, open border policy just to make themselves feel good at the D.C. cocktail parties. Hispanics don't want it. They want a secure border. They want safe neighborhoods and a safe nation.

That's why they overwhelmingly chose President Trump as their 47th president.

ABC NEWS: And so you don't think that the Biden administration has done anything that should be continued at the border?

DE LA CRUZ: What the Biden administration has done is they've led criminals through our border. We have seen women raped. We have seen children like Jocelyn [Nungaray], like Laken Riley, who were murdered by illegal immigrants.

So what we need is a safe and secure border. That's what Americans want. They want national security. That's why they overwhelmingly chose President Trump.

But in my part of the district, which is Deep South Texas, the Rio Grande Valley, we had every single county turn from blue to red, overwhelmingly choosing President Trump, choosing myself.

In fact, in Stark County, where it is 98% Hispanic, they flipped red for the first time since 1892. That's telling you that Biden and Harris did not secure a border. They did not like the chaos under their failed leadership. And that's why they flipped red for the first time in over 100 years.

ABC NEWS: Really, you would attribute that to that shift? And it was a major shift in particular among Latino voters. You think that's entirely because of the border?

DE LA CRUZ: I think there were three issues. It was the border, first and foremost, which we talked about. It was the economy. Hispanics tend to have larger families. That means more mouths to feed.

Under the Biden-Harris administration, we've seen the cost of living increase exponentially. And what that means is they struggle to live from paycheck to paycheck and put the basics of eggs and milk on the table.

The third thing is culturally.Culturally, Republicans were talking about prosperity. They were talking about hope for the future, prosperity. Meanwhile, the Democrats were talking about pronouns. They were completely disconnected from the Hispanic population and, quite frankly, from the American people.

ABC NEWS: Representative De La Cruz, we thank you so much for your time. Appreciate it.

DE LA CRUZ: Thank you.