The authors of the border bill consistently reassured the American public that their legislation would not allow for the entry of 5,000 or more migrants on a daily basis, dismissing such assertions as mere “internet rumors” and “absolutely absurd.”

“Right now, there’s Internet rumors,” Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) announced on January 28 when referencing the rumorm. “It’s all that people are running.”

“It would be absolutely absurd for me to agree to 5,000 people a day,” he said.

Lankford seems to lack credibility compared to the internet rumors, which hold more truth. The daily limit permitted is even more concerning than what was revealed in the leaked information about the bill.

According to the bill, a staggering number of 8,500 migrants would be allowed to enter the border in a single day without necessitating the declaration of an emergency. Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) took it a step further by suggesting that these “rumors” were fueled by Russian disinformation.

“I suspect that a lot of the internet rumors are very well coming from overseas, where they would love to see this shut down because some people would rather not see funding for Ukraine,” he said.

The actual text of the bill states that the Secretary of Homeland Security “shall activate the border emergency authority if during a period of seven consecutive calendar days, there is an average of 5,000 or more aliens who are encountered each day; or on any 1 calendar day, a combined total of 8,500 or more aliens are encountered.”

“This is not — this is not someone standing at the border with a little clicker and saying, I’m going to let one more in, we’re at 4,999, and then it has to stop,” Lankford added. “It is a shutdown of the border and everyone actually gets turned around.”