The Senate hearing with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison was already heated, thanks to Republicans calling out his record and rhetoric. Josh Hawley accused Ellison of taking money from people tied to a massive fraud scandal, and Ron Johnson blasted him for smirking while talking about the anti-ICE chaos. Ellison denied wrongdoing, of course. But the real moment came when Bernie Moreno stepped in.
Moreno didn’t yell. He didn’t posture. He simply asked the right question — and watched Ellison tie himself in knots.
Ellison spoke about asylum as a “good-faith claim of oppression.” That’s what asylum is supposed to be. But under Joe Biden, it effectively turned into: “Say the magic word and we’ll give you a court date years from now.” Moreno went straight to the core problem.
He asked Ellison whether Mexico and Canada are safe countries. Ellison couldn’t say no — so he said, “Generally, I do.” And that’s when Moreno sprung the trap.
If Mexico and Canada are safe, then why are people passing through them to claim asylum in the United States? Why can’t those countries hear their claims? Ellison stumbled, tried to backpedal, and insisted the U.S. should still hear each case to see if there’s a “well-founded fear of persecution.”
Moreno pressed again: if they’re safe in Mexico or Canada, why isn’t that good enough?
That’s the question Democrats can’t answer. Because the honest answer is uncomfortable: most of the time, it’s not about fleeing persecution — it’s about choosing America over other safe countries for economic reasons. And that abuse of the asylum system clogs it for people who truly need protection.
Moreno’s questioning exposed the contradiction in the Democrat narrative. They want to call every migrant a refugee, but they can’t explain why those “refugees” skip over multiple safe countries to reach the U.S. border. It’s not compassion to ignore that reality — it’s political theater.
Credit where it’s due: Moreno nailed the issue with precision and calm, forcing Ellison to confront the logic of his own position. And moments like that matter, because they remind Americans that border security and real asylum aren’t opposites — they’re supposed to work together.
The takeaway is simple: when you strip away the slogans, the truth still stands. The asylum system was built to protect the persecuted, not to serve as a backdoor immigration program. And thanks to clear-eyed questioning like Moreno’s, that truth is finally getting the spotlight it deserves.
