CLEVELAND — For Republican U.S. Senate hopefuls Matt Dolan, Bernie Moreno and Frank LaRose, a high priority in the race for the GOP nomination is what's happening at the southern border.
"It's the number one issue when I go to every corner of Ohio," said Moreno. "Americans are sick and tired of political leaders that put foreigners, foreign countries, countries that hate us, above our own interests."
A legal immigrant himself from Colombia, Moreno said he has a five-point plan to fix the border.
"Here's how it gets fixed," he said. "If you come into this country illegally you can't claim asylum. If you come into this country through a legal port of entry, we're not going to release you into the country until your claim is heard. You're going to have to stay in Mexico or Canada. We're going to finish the wall, we're going to wipe out the drug cartels and we're going to deport any human being that's in the United States of America illegally must be deported. You do those five things? We have a sovereign and secure country and a secure border."
Moreno said he would not have supported the recent bi-partisan border deal supported by the union representing border patrol agents but opposed by former President Trump.
"Absolutely not and I would bet you that nobody has read that bill. I read all 357 pages, it absolutely did nothing for border security. It was basically a signal that says hey, we're going to pretend we're doing something about border security when it was really a program to give more money to Ukraine," said Moreno.
Fellow GOP hopeful Frank LaRose said he would have been a no as well.
"Part of the problem is if you look at what was put into that package it's kind of an example of what's wrong with Washington right? Separate stand alone things that should be considered on their own merits and debated and then passed funded or not got all crammed into one thing and sort of rushed through," said LaRose.
"It didn't fix what's broken with our asylum system. It also had an allowable number of illegal crossings on a daily basis. That's foolish, that's like saying the police department's not going to start enforcing the law about carjacking until there's a certain number every day. The acceptabe number of illegal crossings is zero and that's what we should be enforcing because that's our law and a law that's not enforced is not a law, it's a suggestion."
A former Army Green Beret, LaRose, called on the Biden Administration to take these immediate steps.
"Three divisions on the border, that's about 60,000 troops, and they don't need to be there long. They can be there for 8 months or 12 months until the wall can get completed and then they can all go home. That's why the U.S. Military exists, they are literally called the Department of Defense for a reason and they need to defend against this invasion that's happening on our southern border."
The southern border sits more than a thousand miles from Northeast Ohio, but all three hopefuls agree it is impacting each day the lives of everyday Ohioans through crime and illegal drugs laced with fentanyl.
"If you saw one of my commercials, you'll know a young man named Adam took what he thought was a regular Adderall pill and it was laced with fentanyl and killed him," said Dolan. "That is making it's way into our state. You go to any sheriff around this state and they will tell you the amount of drugs and now meth, that's coming into Ohio from the southern border is staggering."
That's why he, too, is urging immediate action either by bi-partisan agreement or executive order.
"We need to temporarily secure and seal our border and in the meantime while it's sealed and I mean closed, we get the walls built where necessary. President Obama built walls so its not a Republican Democrat thing its works. Get technology, get more border patrol, give them law enforcement authority. When I was down there one guy told me he feels like a Wal-Mart greeter," said Dolan. "We have to get our 'remain in Mexico' plan back in operation, which means when we open and you're seeking asylum, you have to stay in your host country or in Mexico before you're coming in. No more two years waiting for a hearing. We have to go to Mexico City and tell the Mexican government that aid and trade? We're going to suspend that if you don't help us defeat the cartels."
Early in-person voting at your local Board of Elections is ongoing, as is voting by mail ahead of the March 19 primary election.
