Sen. Tim Scott Says US Needs Trump Leadership to Address Border Crisis

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) announces his run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination at an event in north Charleston, S.C., on May 22, 2023. Allison Joyce/Getty Images

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) has suggested that the United States would need a second term of former President Donald Trump to address the influx of illegal migrants entering the U.S.-Mexico border.

In an interview with Fox News on Feb. 1, Mr. Scott said the U.S. border has become unsafe since President Joe Biden took office in 2021, with over 10,000 migrants caught crossing the border each day last month.

“Our border was secured under President Trump. It is wide open, unsafe, insecure under Joe Biden. … Just last month, as many people crossed our border illegally as were born in America,” he said.

“This invasion is insane. We need four more years of Donald Trump to secure our border. He’s done it once, he will do it again. Let’s get it started,” the South Carolina senator added.

Mr. Scott, the lone black Republican in the U.S. Senate, was a Republican presidential candidate but dropped out of the race in November. He endorsed President Trump on Jan. 19, before the New Hampshire GOP Primary.

On Jan. 28, he praised the former president for his administration’s record, saying: “Donald Trump is changing everything we know about American politics today. And that’s good news for the nation.”

President Trump has said that he would send Texas “reinforcements” if he was elected. He believed that Texas should be given full support in its measures to deter migrants along the U.S.–Mexico border.

The state has been reportedly restricting U.S. Border Patrol after the Supreme Court cleared the way for these federal agents to cut or remove the sharp metal barrier.

Former President Donald Trump talks to reporters at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters headquarters, in Washington, on Jan. 31, 2024. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

“When I’m president, instead of trying to send Texas a restraining order, I will send them reinforcements,” President Trump told a crowd of supporters in Las Vegas on Jan 27.

“Instead of fighting border states, I will use every resource tool and authority of the U.S. president to defend the United States of America from this horrible invasion that is taking place right now,” he added.

The historic number of illegal immigrants arriving at the U.S. border with Mexico during President Biden’s term is one of the main challenges of his reelection campaign.

Border Patrol tallied 249,785 arrests on the Mexican border in December 2023, up 31 percent from 191,112 in November and up 13 percent from 222,018 in December 2022, the previous all-time high.

Arrests fell more than half during the first two weeks of January, “consistent with historical trends and enhanced enforcement,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement. CBP previously said a crackdown by Mexican authorities contributed to the January decline.

Immigration was a top issue during Iowa’s Republican caucuses last month, which President Trump won. An Associated Press survey found about 9 in 10 caucusgoers backed building a wall along the U.S.–Mexico border, with about 7 in 10 expressing strong support for the idea.

In the Supreme Court ruling, the justices ruled 5–4 to side with the Biden administration, allowing Border Patrol agents to remove the razor wire that was installed.

Aaron Pan, Jack Phillips, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.