Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) said during an interview over the weekend that illegal border crossings are temporarily down because Mexico has important elections soon, and politicians there want to convince voters that they are strong on national security measures.

Gonzales made the remarks during a Sunday CBS News interview with Margaret Brennan on “Face The Nation” when asked about the numbers, which are still very high under President Joe Biden compared to previous administrations.

“It doesn’t have to do with what Joe Biden has done. We’re on pace [this year] for 1.3 million people to come over illegally,” he said. “The numbers are down. The explanation is Mexico. A lot of people don’t realize Mexico has an election next month for its presidency, nine governorships and its congress. So, in many cases, those that are running on security platforms are keeping the numbers down.”

“The cartels are like – they are like companies,” he continued. “So they’re taking a loss in Q1 and Q2 in order to increase the volume in Q3 and Q4. So, if any – in many – in many ways, this is just Mexico carrying Biden a couple rounds. Now, if Joe Biden wants to secure this thing long term, I think he needs to stop looking at the Senate for a solution and look to the House.”

Gonzales said that Biden could fix the problem by backing H.R.2, the Republicans’ solution to Biden’s illegal immigration crisis, but that even just talking with the House would be impactful because he refuses to negotiate with Republicans.

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“The president has not had any real conversations with anyone in the House,” he said. “The Senate, yes, they’ve sat down, they’ve had these conversations. But, in the House, they’ve given no oxygen to it. This is a different Congress than in years past. The House is where I believe you start, if you truly wanted to solve it.”

WATCH:

.@RepTonyGonzales says the decline in border crossings isn’t because of Biden administration policy, but rather cartels deliberately slowing their operations. “Cartels are like companies. So, they’re taking a loss in Q1 and Q2, in order to increase volume in Q3 and Q4.” pic.twitter.com/OayQYGktbY

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) May 26, 2024

Special counsel Jack Smith is seeking a gag order against former President Donald Trump after he suggested the FBI was authorized to assassinate him.

The request follows the revelation last week that the FBI was permitted to use “deadly force” in the 2022 raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.

In response, Trump claimed FBI agents were “authorized to shoot me” and were “locked & loaded ready to take me out & put my family in danger.”

Smith’s team rebuffed such claims in a court filing in the Florida-based classified documents case against Trump.

Federal prosecutors said the statements “falsely” suggested law enforcement agents “were complicit in a plot to assassinate” Trump.

The statements also “expose those agents, some of whom will be witnesses at trial, to the risk of threats, violence, and harassment,” they added.

Smith’s team asked the court to restrain Trump from making public declarations that pose a serious “danger” to agents participating in the case.

Prosecutors also noted that Trump’s lawyers object to the motion as they “do not believe that there is any imminent danger.”

Neither Trump’s defense team nor Judge Aileen Cannon immediately responded to the request for a gag order.

The FBI has insisted that the bureau was following “standard protocol” in the Mar-a-Lago search that has a policy statement “limiting the use of deadly force.”

Trump’s re-election campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, asserted in a statement that prosecutors were trying to meddle in the 2024 election.

“Hacks and Thugs are obsessed with trying to deprive President Trump and all American voters of their First Amendment rights,” he said.

“Repeated attempts to silence President Trump during the presidential campaign are blatant attempts to interfere in the election,” Cheung added.

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Judges have implemented gag orders against Trump in a New York hush-money case and Smith’s 2020 election interference case against the former president.

Trump has maintained his innocence in all of the charges he faces, including in a separate 2020 election interference case in Georgia.

Just one of the four cases — the criminal matter in Manhattan — has gone to trial so far.

Judge Cannon postponed the classified documents trial, which had been set for May 20, and has not selected a new date.