Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp labels every state a 'border state' in exclusive immigration talk

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp spoke exclusively with FOX 5’s Deidra Dukes about immigration.

"Certainly, in my eyes and the eyes of a lot of my colleagues around the country, every state is a border state," Kemp said. "Whether you are Republican or Democrat people are outraged by what's happening at the border."

Kemp said illegal immigration and unsecure borders account for a great deal of criminal activity in this country.

"We are dealing with the effects of illegal immigration and not stemming the tide and securing the border in every state, whether it's fentanyl, methamphetamine, human trafficking, the number of people coming over that cities around the country are dealing with."

On Wednesday, Sen. Jon Ossoff warned of a grave national security risk if the border security bill is blocked this week in the Senate.

"The threat of terrorism associated with unlawful entry at the southern border is real, it is pressing," the Democratic senator told his colleagues.

Republican senators rejected similar bipartisan legislation introduced earlier this year after former President Donald Trump urged them to kill the bill.

Critics said those lawmakers and Trump did so, in part, to ensure illegal immigration would be an issue during the presidential race.

Gov. Kemp points to, what he calls, the Biden administration's failed policies for the escalating crisis at the southern border.

"When President Biden came in, he took away all those things that made it secure. Democrats controlled all three branches of government in Washington D.C. from 2020 to 2022 and did nothing on the border when governors like me were calling on them to fix this problem."