Activist Rev. Al Sharpton referred to the unprecedented number of illegal border crossings as an "invasion of migrants."
Sharpton took aim at the recent bipartisan border bill introduced in the Senate and discussed the border crisis during a Monday appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe in an interview with Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, who negotiated the bill.
"You’re getting migrants beating up policemen in the streets of New York,” Sharpton said. “You are seeing an influx of migrants all over the country that, frankly, have people outraged.”
Sharpton pressed the Connecticut senator on what "public pressure" could be placed on Congress to combat the issue.
“Why are you allowing this to continue?” he asked. "Because at the end of the day, senators have to deal with their voters.”
"At the same, in the bill you give money to Gaza, to civilians in Gaza, and Israel,” Sharpton said of the bill. “But the border, I mean, we’re looking every day at the invasion of migrants, and they are playing a time game with politics on this?”
Former President Donald Trump has previously been criticized by corporate media for referring to the border crisis as an "invasion."
“This is an invasion. This is like a military invasion,” Trump said during a campaign stop in Reno, Nevada last December. “Drugs, criminals, gang members and terrorists are pouring into our country at record levels. We’ve never seen anything like it. They’re taking over our cities.”
The Washington Post notably referred to Trump's remarks as "dehumanizing" at the time.
Former Trump campaign consultant Roger Stone noted Sharpton's use of the term on Tuesday.
"When Al Sharpton says we have a problem on our southern border with an 'invasion of migrants,' you know things have really gotten serious," he wrote.
The bipartisan bill was negotiated by Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford, a Republican, Arizona Sen. Krysten Sinema, an Independent, and Murphy, a Democrat. The proposed legislation notably activates border emergency authority if “an average of 5,000 or more” illegal border crossings happen in a seven-day period, or if a combined total of 8,500 border crossings are observed on any one calendar day. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has reportedly encouraged Republican colleagues to oppose the bill in the upcoming Wednesday vote. House Republican leadership also released a statement declaring the bill “DEAD on arrival” if passed by the Senate.
