Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl said he was “surprised” the Laken Riley Act won’t be voted on in the Legislature before the end of the session.

Originally introduced by State Rep. Ernie Yarbrough (R-Trinity), the legislation would allow local law enforcement to partner with federal immigration agencies to enforce federal immigration and customs laws.

The bill was filed in response to February abduction and murder of Laken Riley by an illegal immigrant. Riley was an undergraduate student at the Augusta University nursing school.

Wahl discussed the continuing border crisis this week on WVNN’s “The Yaffee Program.”

“I was actually a little surprised that it didn’t move forward faster because one of the biggest issues, when I’m out talking to Republican voters, and swing voters, independents, and even Democrats, one issue we can usually all agree on is that we need to secure the border,” Wahl said. “It’s kind of very much a common sense issue. We need to protect our communities. Stop the flood of fentanyl or human trafficking or dangerous criminals.”

Wahl also discussed how the federal government should be doing its job and securing the border.

“I always bring it back to the fact that I’m a butterfly farmer,” he said. “That’s what I do for a living and I know some of your listeners have never heard that, but I’m a lepidopterist by trade. We’re more regulated, the interstate movement of butterflies are more regulated than our southern border is. A butterfly farmer can go to jail, just for moving a butterfly across state lines. And yet there’s no consequences on the U.S. southern border right now.

“The federal government has no problem overregulating U.S. citizens and U.S. businesses in every single area of our lives. And yet, all of a sudden, they don’t want to regulate our own border, the border to our country. And I just think it’s so disingenuous, and we as a people, we as a Republican Party, and then also we as a society, should fundamentally reject that. Because not only does it highlight the lack of concern on the border, it also highlights overregulation of U.S. companies and businesses.”

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee