Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, told Newsmax on Thursday that his bill to "cease all immigration functions" at the southern U.S. border is gaining "bipartisan support" in Congress.
Williams said on "National Report" that the legislation he introduced this week, the Border Security and Terrorism Prevention Act, "makes it frankly, easier on the Border Patrol" by directing Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas "to cease all immigration functions at ports of entry along the southern border until the United States is secure, and for other purposes."
Williams said the bill "just says if you're requesting asylum or you're here illegally, that you can't get in and that you're going to have to go back, and the bill says that we will take them back in a format that the Border Patrol decides."
Williams added: "We're getting bipartisan support on this and, frankly, it's late, but there's no time like today to get this done, and it's very important."
Williams went on to blame Mayorkas for problems at the border and among the Border Patrol, saying, "The reason they're doing such a poor job is they have such poor leadership … because [Mayorkas] won't admit to the problem."
Williams described Mayorkas as "defensive" during his testimony on Capitol Hill, adding that the secretary "just keeps telling us our borders are secure, and that's just unbelievable."
"We've got to secure the border and this bill that we're talking about begins to help do that and let people know you just can't come here for free and try to kill everybody," Williams said.