Candidates for Oklahoma House District 5 speak on immigration issues

By Kolby Terrell

Candidates for Oklahoma House District 5 speak on immigration issues

One of the biggest topics this election cycle has been what to do about the U.S. border, and two House District 5 candidates have differing ideas.Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here."James Lankford was such a big supporter of the previous bipartisan immigration bill and the fact that we saw it die," said Democrat candidate Madison Horn.And that bill wasn't the only border bill to die in recent years.KOCO 5 asked Republican incumbent Stephanie Bice, who's running for reelection, about gridlock at the Capitol."That's sort of how Congress works; I mean, if you look at ... the founding fathers did not want things to happen quickly, and that's for a reason. I think we want to address some of these important issues, but coming to a consensus can be challenging," Bice said.Her opponent said the time to get something done is now."I think we need to get out of our own way, and we just need to do things for the effectiveness and the purpose that leaving our border open is a national security problem," Horn said.Bice said policies during former President Donald Trump's administration that President Joe Biden has removed need to come back before they can make progress anywhere else."That has increased the number of people illegally coming into the country," Bice said. "We can't address the immigration issue until we secure the border.">> Download the KOCO 5 AppHorn said fixing immigration problems needs to be part of the solution."We haven't updated our immigration process since post-World War II, and we need to understand as a country, immigration is actually a good thing, and it helps us build a very strong workforce here in the United States," Horn said.Bice said that if those Trump policies are returned, she wants to see immigration updated, too."First and foremost, you know, when you're looking at people that want to come here to work, there's a cap on the number of individuals. What can we do to increase that cap," Bice said.But both candidates expressed major concerns with immigration policy after an Afghan man living in Oklahoma City was arrested for an alleged Election Day terror plot."What we do need to evaluate is this was a downfall of the fact that there wasn't an appropriate vetting process," Horn said.Bice said that's something she's digging for more information on."What I see as a huge failure, though, is the fact that when I asked for an additional briefing from the FBI, they ran it up the flagpole to the DOJ, and the Department of Justice actually denied me getting any information about how the individual came into the country, whether he was vetted," Bice said.Top HeadlinesSevere storms knock out power, drop large hail across OklahomaSuspect shot after firing at police multiple times during Oklahoma City pursuitIn a first since 1938, Des Moines, Iowa, kids will trick-or-treat on HalloweenOKC police officer accused of using excessive force on 70-year-old man place on leaveState Superintendent Ryan Walters demands $475 million from VP Kamala Harris in reimbursement

One of the biggest topics this election cycle has been what to do about the U.S. border, and two House District 5 candidates have differing ideas.

Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here.

"James Lankford was such a big supporter of the previous bipartisan immigration bill and the fact that we saw it die," said Democrat candidate Madison Horn.

And that bill wasn't the only border bill to die in recent years.

KOCO 5 asked Republican incumbent Stephanie Bice, who's running for reelection, about gridlock at the Capitol.

"That's sort of how Congress works; I mean, if you look at ... the founding fathers did not want things to happen quickly, and that's for a reason. I think we want to address some of these important issues, but coming to a consensus can be challenging," Bice said.

Her opponent said the time to get something done is now.

"I think we need to get out of our own way, and we just need to do things for the effectiveness and the purpose that leaving our border open is a national security problem," Horn said.

Bice said policies during former President Donald Trump's administration that President Joe Biden has removed need to come back before they can make progress anywhere else.

"That has increased the number of people illegally coming into the country," Bice said. "We can't address the immigration issue until we secure the border."

>> Download the KOCO 5 App

Horn said fixing immigration problems needs to be part of the solution.

"We haven't updated our immigration process since post-World War II, and we need to understand as a country, immigration is actually a good thing, and it helps us build a very strong workforce here in the United States," Horn said.

Bice said that if those Trump policies are returned, she wants to see immigration updated, too.

"First and foremost, you know, when you're looking at people that want to come here to work, there's a cap on the number of individuals. What can we do to increase that cap," Bice said.

But both candidates expressed major concerns with immigration policy after an Afghan man living in Oklahoma City was arrested for an alleged Election Day terror plot.

"What we do need to evaluate is this was a downfall of the fact that there wasn't an appropriate vetting process," Horn said.

Bice said that's something she's digging for more information on.

"What I see as a huge failure, though, is the fact that when I asked for an additional briefing from the FBI, they ran it up the flagpole to the DOJ, and the Department of Justice actually denied me getting any information about how the individual came into the country, whether he was vetted," Bice said.

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