CHUCK TODD: Would Republicans be on higher ground here if the House had passed an immigration bill? Any immigration bill?

REP. TOM COTTON: Well, I think we should pass an immigration bill that addresses our problems, which is a lack of border security, a lack of internal enforcement.

CHUCK TODD: Why didn’t you?

REP. TOM COTTON: Well, there weren’t the votes in the House going forward to focus on the real problems that the people of Arkansas shared with me during the campaign. A bill that focused on building a border fence or enforcing our interior immigration laws, and getting a handle on legal immigration, that could actually drive down wages and increase unemployment. But I think the new Congress will focus on those priorities.

CHUCK TODD: You had said immigration, you felt, was the number-one issue. The reason why you and so many Republicans won. Do you believe that?

REP. TOM COTTON: Well, certainly, a central issue in the campaign, along with Obamacare and national security. But too many Arkansans are worried about the impact that rampant illegal immigration is having on their communities and local services, on the impact it’s having on jobs for working families all across the country. And that’s why they want us to address those problems in the new Congress.

CHUCK TODD: Now, you brought up one other issue during the campaign. I want to ask you about it. Let me play some audio from you about the immigration issue.

REP. TOM COTTON (ON TAPE): First off, we have a lot at stake to collaborate with drug cartels in Mexico that have clearly shown their ready to expand outside the drug trade into human trafficking and potentially even terrorism. They could infiltrate our defenseless southern border and attack it right here in places like Arkansas.

CHUCK TODD: You didn’t bring up terrorism just now with me. You did in a campaign phone call. Is that just campaign rhetoric?

REP. TOM COTTON: No. I mean, Hezbollah–

CHUCK TODD: What’s the evidence?

REP. TOM COTTON: No, Hezbollah has tried to launch terrorist attacks right here in Washington D.C. They’re under federal indictment collaborating with locals in Mexico to cross our borders, attack us here. As long as our border is open and it’s defenseless, then it’s not just an immigration issue, it’s a national security issue. And we know that these drug cartels in Mexico are focused primarily on power and profit. They’ll branch out into any activity if it brings them more money and helps them consolidate control. That’s yet another reason why we have to get control of our border.

CHUCK TODD: Do you worry that rhetoric like that ends up making it even that much harder to actually get some sort of agreeable immigration bill?

REP. TOM COTTON: No.

CHUCK TODD: Because that plays to fear. That’s, you know, some would argue that’s fear mongering.

REP. TOM COTTON: Well, the Islamic State is cutting the heads off of Americans right now. And their leader has said they want to strike us here in the United States. That’s something that we should be fearful of and that we should take a strong stance against, whether it’s in Iraq, in Syria, or whether it’s securing our southern border.