Ruben Gallego ready to work on border issues in US Senate
Jan 3, 2025, 4:28 PM
PHOENIX — Ruben Gallego is new to the U.S. Senate — he was sworn in on Friday — but he’s already prepared to tackle an issue at the top of minds for many Arizonans.
Border security will be a top priority for Gallego, a Democrat. He told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Outspoken with Bruce and Gaydos on Friday that he plans to collaborate with incoming President Donald Trump to secure the border.
“We’re going to try to work with the president,” Gallego said. “There is no denying that there’s a problem at the border. The system has been abused.”
How does Ruben Gallego plan on solving border issues?
For Gallego, there are a laundry list of tasks that could better the situation at the U.S-Mexio border.
RELATED STORIES
Among them is beefing up staffing for the U.S. Border Patrol and erecting walls in necessary places.
“We just need to actually hire more officers to have more people being checked at the border,” Gallego said. “As I said on the campaign, where we need border walls, we should have border walls.”
Gallego, Arizona’s first Latino U.S. senator, is also keen on reforming the country’s asylum system.
Joe Biden enacted stricter restrictions on migrants seeking asylum at the border in June, but Gallego said more needs to be done.
“There is no denying that the asylum system in the United States has been horribly abused in the last couple of years,” Gallego said. “It will only continue unless we work across the aisle to really do that.”
For major reform to happen, Gallego said both parties need to work together.
“We should work together to find a way to stop the entry of illegal immigrants, stop the abuse by some seekers, and deport those criminal aliens that are in this country and are deportable,” Gallego said.
