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Two years into office, President Biden has yet to visit the overwhelmed southern border despite the ongoing immigration crisis. Illegal immigrants are not just “walking” across.
Republicans and Border Patrol agents outraged when the White House challenged a statement that anyone who set foot in Texas or Arizona without being vaccinated was allowed to stay in the U.S. did
“But it doesn’t work,” White House Press Secretary Carine Jean-Pierre said at a news conference on Monday when asked by Fox News’ Peter Doocy.
“That’s what’s happening,” Doocy said. “I know that’s not what you guys want, but it’s happening.”
Border guards condemn Carine Jean-Pierre’s ‘ignorant’ claims that illegal immigrants are not ‘walking across’
“But it’s not. It’s not like someone walks in,” Jean-Pierre replied. said.
Biden recently traveled to Pennsylvania, Kentucky, South Carolina and Israel. But in his 18 months as president, he has yet to visit the southern border. Last year he encountered more than 1.7 million immigrants and this year so far he has encountered more than 2 million immigrants.
For Biden’s Republican critics, Jean-Pierre’s denial of something we see at the border every day was the latest indicator of the administration’s bluntness to the crisis at the border.
“The White House shamelessly denies the fact that illegal immigration is crossing the southern border,” tweeted the House GOP Caucus. We should see the turmoil caused by the policy.”
Rep. August Pflueger (R-Tex.), a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said, “The White House doesn’t know how a border crisis “works.” “@POTUS and his contactless staff seeing the crisis with their own eyes is a thing of the past.”
Republican National Committee Chairman Ronna McDaniel tweeted, “Biden says he doesn’t have time to visit the border… 234 days off since becoming president.”
Fox News Digital did not respond to a request for comment from the White House on whether plans for Biden’s border visit were underway.
The border crisis escalated dramatically shortly after Biden took office. Critics attribute the surge to about 200,000 per month, which reached 150,000 per month by mid-2021, due to a setback in Trump-era policies.
Border Patrol Arrests Group of 100 Migrants in California, Most From 12 Countries Except Mexico
The administration ended the Immigration Protection Protocol that kept migrants in Mexico for asylum hearings, ended the construction of the border wall and dramatically scaled back internal crackdowns. It also seeks to end deportation under the Title 42 public health order.
Instead, the Biden administration has focused on what it sees as the “root causes” of the crisis, including poverty, climate change, violence and corruption in Central America. It touts the more than 3,000 arrests achieved by the campaign, agreements with countries in the Western Hemisphere, and increased funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
“We’re making plans. This isn’t like turning on a light, is it?” Jean-Pierre said on Monday. “This requires a process. Fixing a broken system really left behind by the previous administration.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, tasked last year with leading talks with foreign leaders to address the root causes, will visit the border in the summer of 2021. Republican critics point out that she has not returned since.
“When will ’emperor of the border’ Kamala Harris actually visit the border?” the Republican National Committee asked this week.
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On Wednesday, Jean-Pierre tried to clarify her remarks, saying that migrants should be placed in border guard detention, deported under Title 42, transferred to immigration or processed domestically. We outlined the process of
“That’s how it works. That’s the process we’re taking,” she said.