During his first week in office, President Donald Trump signed several executive orders related to immigration and border policy, from ending birthright citizenship to cracking down on illegal immigration.
But Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., is hoping that Republicans will reach across the aisle and work with Democrats on the issue, rather than taking it on alone.
“We can find common ground on this issue — we have in the past,” said Kelly in an interview with Spectrum News Friday. “My goal here is to work with Republicans, and we have enough Democrats to do that, that want bipartisan solutions to this problem, and that means things like providing more pay for the border patrol for those agents, and hiring more border patrol agents and building the necessary infrastructure and providing the money to acquire the technology to detect things like fentanyl coming across our ports of entry.”
“This is one of these issues where we will do a better job if we do it as a team, rather than one party going it alone.”
Kelly led 12 of his Democratic colleagues this week in a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., urging him to work with Democrats on immigration legislation.
“We understand that Senate Republicans have discussed using the budget reconciliation process to advance border security budget measures without any Democratic input. While that’s your right, in working together on a bipartisan basis, we can achieve the best outcome for the American people. There are also limitations to what can be done under budget reconciliation, and as we’ve seen time and time again, no party has all the solutions on this or any issue,” they said.
When asked about the letter by NBC News, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. reportedly laughed when asked if Republicans would accept the olive branch extended by Democrats. “That’s a letter we will ignore,” Johnson told the outlet.
During our conversation, Kelly said he heard about Johnson’s response. “That does not surprise me — I am not surprised that Ron Johnson would want to go it alone, but that’s not the best way to get lasting policy that’s comprehensive.”
Last year, a bipartisan border security bill was being negotiated in the Senate, but Trump, then a candidate, squashed the idea. Kelly, who was a proponent of the deal, said at the time that Congress “had an opportunity to defy the low expectations that the American people have for Congress and actually do something in a bipartisan way to start fixing the border.”
“But that’s not what happened. Senate Republicans walked away. Well, actually, they ran away from this agreement. Because too many politicians would just prefer to keep talking about a problem than actually solve it. This failure isn’t theoretical in my state.”
That was six months ago — but he says the appetite for bipartisanship from the Democratic side has not gone away. When asked if he’s been in touch with the White House to let the new administration know he wants to find common ground on the issue, Kelly said the administration “should know” he’s willing to work with them on this issue, though it’s not been directly telegraphed.
“One of the folks over there that I have a good working relationship with is Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz. We haven’t talked about this issue specifically, but I did speak to him Monday about some other things,” said Kelly.
Kelly, who hails from a key swing state that Donald Trump won in 2024 but is currently represented in the Senate by two Democrats, says he’s going to find areas to work with the administration when possible. But don’t expect him to be a pushover; Kelly has already expressed concerns about Trump’s nominees for the Department of Defense and Director of National intelligence, though he voted to support Marco Rubio for Secretary of State earlier this week.
“We’re going to try to find that common ground, and we’re going to work together with this administration to move this country forward. That’s why we’re here, that’s why we were all elected, regardless of what party you came from, what state. We’re elected to get things done. So when we can do that, we’ll do that,” Kelly explained. “When this administration, when this President, you know, has policies I don’t think are consistent with the principles of this country, then I’m going to push back, and I’m going to, you know, try to do what I can to make sure those policies are not implemented. But when we can find common ground, I’m going to be there and I’m going to work with them.”