Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) (Screenshot)

“Extreme radicals on the left,” like Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) are preventing mainstream Democrats from cooperating with efforts to secure the nation’s southern border, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) said Monday.

Appearing on Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom,” Rep. Scalise was asked to comment on a video of Rep. Pelosi saying she would not support funding for President Donald Trump’s “immoral” border wall – even if it meant getting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which would allow illegal alien minors to remain in the U.S.

Scalise said that there are mainstream Democrats who, otherwise, would be willing to secure the border – but, they’re “being held hostage” by extremist leftwing radicals, like Pelosi, who don’t want any border security at all:

“To say that it’s immoral to protect this country – obviously, where Nancy Pelosi is right now is with the open borders crowd, the people that don’t want any borders, that don’t want ICE agents. She’s been for abolishing ICE. “And, so, I think what’s happening is, right now, the Democrats in the House are being held hostage by the extreme radicals on the left. “This isn’t mainstream, by the way. Most of this country, wherever they are on DACA, believes that we ought to secure the border. You know, let’s deal with immigration.”

Rep. Scalise said Pres. Trump has offered numerous concessions and compromises, but mainstream Democrats say they’re too afraid of their party’s radical element to even consider them: