Arizona GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake has made it clear what she plans to do to secure her state’s border with Mexico, and she has made it equally clear she doesn’t really care what President Joe Biden thinks about the matter.
In an interview with CBS News on Sunday, Lake said she plans to take care of the situation herself after Arizona (and Texas) have seen record surges in human and drug smuggling the two years Biden’s been in office after he reversed former President Donald Trump’s immigration and border security policies.
“Your website is detailed and specific on the question of immigration and border security. You call, if elected as governor, for Arizona to join other states to form what you call a compact to carry out border security separate from the federal government, including arrest and detention. For the benefit of Arizona voters, can you explain the legal and practical application of this approach?” anchor Major Garrett asked the former Phoenix-area newscaster.
“Well, of course, if you know the Constitution, you know that Article 4, Section 4 calls for the federal government to protect us from invasion, and under Joe Biden’s lack of leadership, we just aren’t seeing that. And we have an invasion at our border, the cartels, these Narco terrorist groups have operational control,” Lake said.
“And they’re using Arizona to smuggle people, to traffic children, and to traffic the most dangerous drug we’ve ever seen, fentanyl. And so we’re going to invoke our Article One, Section 10, basically, authority to take care of our own border and protect our own border. It’s right there in black and white in the Constitution,” Lake continued.
And we meet all three criteria, we have an invasion, our people are in imminent danger, and time is of the essence. There’s no time for delay. So we’re going to have other states offer help. I’ve already got a couple other governors who are willing to help out,” Lake added. “And I know that if you ask people in other states that are not border states, they deem this crisis on the border as one of the top issues facing our country with young people dying of fentanyl poisoning right now.”
Garrett asked of Arizona would be willing to go it alone if need be, to which Lake responded in the affirmative.
“Yes, we will. But I believe we will get help. I’ve already talked to some other governors and they’re- they’re vowing to help us out wherever they can, because they realize that what comes into Arizona, fentanyl, people coming here illegally, children being trafficked, doesn’t stay in Arizona, it goes to all 50 states,” she said. “And I just spoke last week to a mother and father who lost their son. And it’s just tragic. We’re losing more people to fentanyl in Arizona, since Joe Biden took office than we lost in 9/11 or during COVID.”
Garrett asked how Lake planned to respond to expected federal pushback from the administration.
“We will, we will challenge the federal government. If they’re going to challenge us, I think we have the right to do this,” she said. “And we will have attorneys file lawsuits as well. But we’re not going to back down and let our people be overrun with drugs, watch our children die. We had a 16-year-old die here in the metro area last week from a fentanyl overdose.
“We can’t keep having this happen. We’re losing our young generation. So I hope that Joe Biden doesn’t fight us because then it would really look like he is on the side of the cartels. And I don’t think he wants the people to think that,” Lake continued.
WATCH:
FULL INTERVIEW: Kari Lake, the Republican candidate for governor in Arizona, spoke to us Sunday about her plan to tackle immigration, her views on abortion, the 2020 election and other major issues facing Arizona voters. pic.twitter.com/0WviOoxOtk
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) October 10, 2022