Texas Senate nominee James Talarico claimed advocacy groups convinced the Biden administration that border security was "racist," causing chaos at the border.

Texas Senate nominee and Democratic state Rep. James Talarico said that the Biden administration allowed "chaos" at the border after being convinced that border security was "racist."

While appearing on a live recording of "The Bulwark" podcast Wednesday, Talarico criticized the Biden administration for refusing to acknowledge issues at the border until its final year in office, accusing it of being influenced by outside groups.

"In recent years, there have been a series of advocacy groups that claim to represent the interests of different communities like here in Texas, but actually have no real connection to the actual people on the ground," Talarico said. "And those groups convinced the administration that it was racist to support border security. And nothing could be further from the truth."

TEXAS SENATE HOPEFUL TALARICO IN HOT SEAT FOR CALLING MEN IN WOMEN’S SPORTS A ‘FAR RIGHT CONSPIRACY’

Texas Senate candidate James Talarico pushed a moderate position on immigration and border security on "The Bulwark." (Danielle Villasana/Getty Images)

He continued, "It was my colleagues in the state House who served border communities in South Texas, in El Paso, who were constantly telling me about the chaos in their communities because of the Biden administration's policies. And that is not compassionate. Chaos is not compassionate. And we, as Democrats, we're the party that's supposed to make the government work for people. And this was a prime example of government not working for people."

He then shifted gears to attacking Republicans, accusing them of taking his comments on political issues like immigration out of context.

JAMES TALARICO'S PAST ANTI-MEAT STANCE GOES VIRAL, DRAWS REPUBLICAN FIRE FROM ACROSS TEXAS POLITICAL LANDSCAPE

Talarico criticized the Biden administration for hesitating to act on border security. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

"I have said throughout the whole campaign that our southern border should be like our front porch. There should be a giant welcome mat out front and a lock on the door, meaning you can welcome hardworking immigrants who want to contribute to this country and keep out people who mean to do us harm. Not mutually exclusive goals, but the Republicans don't want you to know that those two things are possible. And so they post this clip, and they cut it right before I say ‘lock on the door.’ So it just sounds like I want open borders," Talarico said.

Fox News Digital reached out to former President Joe Biden's office for comment.

TALARICO CONFRONTED ON PAST TWEETS ACCUSING WHITE PEOPLE OF SPREADING 'VIRUS' OF RACISM

Though Talarico has been pushing a more moderate position on immigration and border security, he previously posted information to help illegal immigrants evade law enforcement during President Donald Trump's first term.

Texas Democrat Senate nominee James Talarico previously called illegal immigrants his "constituents." (John Moore/Getty Images)

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"Undocumented Americans are folks who work in our businesses, learn in our schools and contribute to our communities — but lack citizenship documentation," Talarico said in a post to X in 2019.

"As a Texas legislator, they’re also my constituents," he added.

Lindsay Kornick is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to lindsay.kornick@fox.com and on Twitter: @lmkornick.

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