He said what?! Presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke declared strict immigration laws in the U.S. a modern form of slavery.

“[With] Immigration, millions [are] living in the shadows, working some of the toughest jobs, lucky to make a minimum wage. Some not even making that,” O’Rourke said. “Kept in modern-day bondage, their immigration status used as leverage to keep them down from fully participating in this country’s success.”

O’Rourke has been vocally against President Trump’s border policy and the wall, but his solution to our immigration crisis is looking the other way and pretending there isn’t a problem. He couldn’t be more deluded.

Central American families and minors are traveling, by any means necessary, to the U.S.-Mexico border and using the loopholes in our immigration laws to enter our country as asylum seekers. Human traffickers and drug traffickers abuse this system and continue to run their criminal enterprise. When they’re not claiming asylum, they’re trekking across dangerous deserts, rivers, and using other means to eventually come over our border.

A recent U.S. Custom and Border Protection report reveals:

In March, 92,607 people were apprehended between ports of entry on the Southwest Border, compared with 66,884 in the month of February and 47,984 in January. In FY18, a total of 396,579 individuals were apprehended between ports of entry on our Southwest Border. In March, 10,885 people presenting themselves at ports of entry on the Southwest Border were deemed inadmissible, compared with 9,651 in the month of February and 10,309 in January. In FY18, 124,511 people presenting themselves at ports of entry on the Southwest Border were deemed inadmissible.

The border has become so dangerous, even for border patrol agents who desperately need any help they can get.

While illegal immigrants are pouring over the border, nearly two million illegal immigrants with deportation orders or pending deportation orders remain in the states.

How does Beto O’Rourke respond to these problems? By looking the other way and smearing the Trump Administration in an effort to secure his nomination for president. Strict immigration laws are necessary for the safety of Americans and the assurance of success for those who worked hard to legally come here.