Trump Flags Terror Risks, Slams Border Deal: ‘Catastrophe Waiting to Happen’

SIOUX CENTER, IOWA - JANUARY 05: Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump arrives for a rally on January 05, 2024 in Sioux Center, Iowa. Iowa Republicans will be the first to select their party's nomination for the 2024 presidential race when they go to caucus on January 15, 2024. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday issued a cautionary note to Republicans negotiating an immigration reform deal in the Senate, arguing that “a bad border deal is far worse than no border deal” and warning of possible terror attacks on U.S. soil.

President Trump made the statement in a post on Truth Social on Jan. 27, which came amid several posts relating to the problem of the surge in illegal immigration under President Joe Biden’s watch.

The former president said in one post that the border was strong and safe during his term in the White House, but “today we have a catastrophe waiting to happen.”

Calling the situation along the U.S.-Mexico border the “worst” in history and an “open wound in our once great country,” the former president alleged that terrorists “are pouring in, unchecked, from all over the world.”

“There is now a 100 percent chance that there will be MAJOR TERROR ATTACKS IN THE USA. CLOSE THE BORDER!” he warned.

In another post, he called attention to the latest data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) showing that illegal immigrant encounters along the U.S.-Mexico border hit a record high.

There were 371,036 illegal alien encounters in December, new data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) show, breaking the previous record of 341,392 set in August 2023.

Encounters along the southwest land border also set a new record, hitting 302,034, per other data released by CBP on Jan. 26

Deal in Focus

President Biden on Friday touted the bipartisan border deal that Senate negotiators are still finalizing.

He posted a statement on X calling for Congress to pass legislation giving him new emergency authority to shut down the border when it becomes “overwhelmed,” meaning if certain thresholds are met for the number of illegal crossings.

“If given that authority, I would use it the day I sign the bill into law,” the president insisted while reiterating his call for Congress to approve more money for border security.

“If you’re serious about the border crisis, pass a bipartisan bill, and I will sign it,” he said.

President Joe Biden speaks in Superior, Wis., on Jan. 25, 2024. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

While some Senate Republicans back the deal, several others, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), have expressed opposition

No details are known about the contents of the deal, but it reportedly includes funding for Ukraine and Israel amid ongoing military conflicts, as well as provisions that Ms. Blackburn said include terms that would allow for up to 5,000 illegal immigrants to be released into the country per day.

“I will not vote for anything that makes illegal legal,” Ms. Blackburn said in a Saturday interview on Fox News.

“The Biden administration tries every day to make illegal immigration legal,” she continued, adding that in negotiations around the border deal, “they want us to say it’s okay for 5,000 people to come, it’s okay for us to close our border some days of the year.”

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.)listens during a press conference on border security at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on September 27, 2023. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

A purported leaked draft of the deal prompted Mr. Johnson to remark it would be “dead on arrival” in the lower chamber.

President Trump, who has made tackling the border crisis a key part of his election campaign, has repeatedly lashed out at the Biden administration over the illegal immigration influx.

In a similar vein to his latest remarks on social media, he recently urged Republicans to reject anything but a “perfect” deal on border security.

‘No Laws Need To Be Passed’

Meanwhile, President Biden’s call to pass border legislation was met with a flurry of critical takes, including by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

“No laws need to be passed. All that is needed is an executive order to require proof before granting an asylum hearing. That is how it used to be,” Mr. Musk said in a post on X, responding to President Biden’s post that urged negotiators to finalize the border deal.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends a conference in Paris, France, on June 16, 2023. Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters

Mr. Musk recently argued that the Biden administration was “actively aiding illegal immigration” by suing Arizona and Texas to block state-level efforts to secure the border.

Arizona’s makeshift border wall was taken down after a lawsuit from the Biden administration, while more recently, a lawsuit over Texas’ razor wire border fencing led to the U.S. Supreme Court to rule to allow federal agents to take it down.

Unphased by the court order and the Biden administration’s criticism, Mr. Abbott said on Thursday that he would add more razor wire “to make sure we are doing even more to secure the border.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, left, listens as former President Donald Trump, right, speaks in Edinburg, Texas, on Nov. 19, 2023 AP Photo/Eric Gay

By contrast, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) praised the Supreme Court ruling.

“Enforcement of immigration law is a federal responsibility,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

“Rather than helping to reduce irregular migration, the State of Texas has only made it harder for frontline personnel to do their jobs and to apply consequences under the law. We can enforce our laws and administer them safely, humanely, and in an orderly way.”

Legislative Actions Amid Razor Wire Feud

In response to the Supreme Court decision, a Republican senator introduced a bill that would prohibit the federal government from removing border fencing states put up by states.

The bill, titled the State Border Security Act, was introduced on Thursday by Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio). The measure would prevent federal agents from taking down barriers put up by states, such as the concertina wire fencing put up by Texas authorities, within  25 miles of the southern border.

“The Supreme Court gave Joe Biden a green light to cut down barriers put in place by the State of Texas,” Mr. Vance said in a statement.

“My bill would codify the right of every state along the U.S.-Mexico border to defend its own territory. If Joe Biden refuses to take action, let the states get the job done.”

An aerial view shows a U.S. Border Patrol agent supervising as illegal immigrants walk into the United States after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico on Sept. 30, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. The agent had cut coils of razor wire to let them pass through for processing. John Moore/Getty Images

A similar measure, called the Restricting Administration Zealots from Obliging Raiders (RAZOR) Act, was introduced a day earlier in the House by Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.).

President Trump weighed in on the border fence controversy, urging states to send in the National Guard to block illegal immigrants from entering the country and removing those that do make it in.