Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Sen John Kennedy (R-LA) said some of his Democratic colleagues believe the “border is a nuisance.”

When asked about President Donald Trump declaring a national emergency at the border, Kennedy said, “It wasn’t my preferred choice. I would have preferred to have congress do its job. Now not all my colleagues agree with me, but I do believe that we have a have a crisis at the border. We have had in my judgment, a 15-year bipartisan refusal here in Washington, D.C., by both big government Republicans and Ritz-Carlton Democrats to refuse to enforce America’s immigration laws. Trump is enforcing them. Now you may like that or dislike it, but he’s enforcing them. Some of my colleagues don’t agree with him. To them, the border is kind of a nuisance.”

Host Jake Tapper asked, “You are talking about Republican colleagues, too?”

Kennedy clarified, “I’m talking about Democratic colleagues. To them, the border is a nuisance. To some of my Democratic friends, there’s no —they make no distinction between legal and illegal immigration. If you disagree with them, you’re a racist. I believe that legal immigration makes our country stronger. I believe that illegal immigration undermines legal immigration. I believe that illegal immigration is illegal. I mean, duh.”

He added, “And one way to combat it, not the only way, is a border wall. I don’t see how any fair-minded person can conclude, particularly if he or she has border security experience, that you condition secure 1900 miles of real estate without a wall or barrier. You can’t. and every other country that has used one, Israel, for example, with its 400-mile border wall with the West Bank, they’ve found success with it.”

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