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President Biden’s handling of the border with Mexico has left the US in “an absolute catastrophe” — one that is now being felt in the northernmost reaches of New York, a top House Republican told The Post on Tuesday.
“The situation at the southern border is an absolute catastrophe that has gotten worse under Joe Biden,” Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), the House Republican Conference chairwoman, said ahead of Biden’s State of the Union address.
“We just don’t have migrants filling New York City’s hotels. We have buses of migrants going right through my district! This failure to control the border is making our communities less safe.”
Stefanik, the highest ranking New York Republican in Congress who represents the North Country upstate, referenced a Post story that exclusively reported disgruntled migrants, fed up with the Big Apple’s crime and grime, were taking taxpayer-funded buses upstate from the city before crossing into Canada.
The failure to control the southern border also is a major cause of America’s deadly fentanyl health crisis, the congresswoman added.
“A large amount of fentanyl is coming through our southern border. Two hundred young Americans die every day from fentanyl overdoses,” said Stefanik.
“We are no longer a nation of laws under Joe Biden.”
The White House had no immediate comment on Stefanik’s incendiary criticism.
Stefanik invited upstate Montgomery County Sheriff Jeffrey Smith as her guest attending Biden’s address in the Capitol on Tuesday night.
Smith, who joined Stefanik in the phone interview with The Post, said Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Legislature need to fix the state’s unpopular cashless bail and discovery laws that are making it harder for law enforcement to prosecute offenders.
“The last couple of years have been the most challenging of my career,” Smith said.
“What we’re seeing is criminals getting desk appearance tickets and moving around the state. The bail law is something that needs to be addressed.”
Stefanik recently proposed legislation that would entice New York and other states to change their laws to “hold repeat offenders accountable and bolster public safety” by rewarding them with federal grants.
