Biden quietly admits the border has been in chaos ‘for a number of years’ ahead of Title 42 expiration
The President Biden admitted quietly Wednesday evening that he and White House refused to publicly discuss the deteriorating situation along the U.S. – Mexico border.
Biden said that the border situation would be chaotic for some time as his administration worked to restore order. But speaking with reporters on the Westchester County Airport tarmac the following day, Biden acknowledged there had been “chaos” at the border “for a number years.”
Before boarding Air Force One at White Plains in New York, the president stated, “Well, there’s been chaos along the border for many years.” “We must fully fund border security efforts.”
He said, “Look, what we are doing is to make legal immigration more streamlined. Illegal immigration will be shorter-term and moved. We’re moving in a way that people understand that there is a legal and a non-legal way to come here. This is the current situation.
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Biden became President in January of 2021. Democrats were in control of Congress at the time. They had a majority of Representatives in the House and an edge over Republicans on the U.S. Senate.
The Biden administration, in the years that followed, has refused to use funds already allocated for border reinforcement, sued Arizona in order to remove shipping containers which helped fill in gaps in the U.S. Border Patrol Yuma Sector and halted former President Trump’s policy of “Remain in Mexico”. It also failed to extend Title 42. Since then, the “Remain in Mexico policy” has been reinstated.
The president responded to several questions from the group on Wednesday evening. These included the detention of more than 10,000 migrants at the border each day, and the expiration of Title 42, which will likely lead to an increase in the number migrants seeking entry to the U.S.
He was asked about Mexico’s involvement in the current crisis, and if he would send additional U.S. soldiers to the border.
Yesterday, I spent an hour talking with the president of Mexico. Biden said, “He’s been very co-operative.”
Biden said that he and Mexican president Andres Manuel Obrador are “in agreement”, and that he is “also in favor of ensuring we have way-stops [in Colombia and other countries] where people can make their cases (for asylum).
Biden simply replied “Yes” when asked if he would consider sending more troops to the border.
The President did not specify the number of additional people he might consider sending.
Biden said, “The troops are here to free the Border Patrol agents to do their jobs.”
Biden seemed to also blame a divided Congress, for failing to adequately address border security.
“I asked Congress to give the Border Patrol a lot of money. The Congress did not do this. “They’ve made it more difficult,” said the president.
“We want the border to function and work the way that it was designed to.” He said. This requires more immigration officers, asylum judges and a variety of other things, such as more personnel. “I’m doing as much as I can to achieve that.”
House Republicans claim that the problem at the border is solely Biden’s fault. They have introduced the Secure the Border act, which would renew attempts to build a wall along the border, increase border patrol agents, and give them greater financial incentives to do their jobs.
This would also mean an end to “catch-and-release” policies.
At a press conference this week for the Republican leadership, House Majority leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said that Republicans had not been on the sidelines of the crisis, as Biden claims.
Scalise stated that “most of the problems at the border are the result of Joe Biden’s actions, beginning on his first day as president, when he began sending a message to the world about the openness of America’s borders by stopping the construction of the wall and reinstating catch-and-release, ending the policy of Remain in Mexico, and the Northern Triangle Agreements.”
He added, “As House Republicans, we decided that we would not sit by and watch as President Biden creates this problem. We are going to work on this problem. We’re bringing H.R. 2 tomorrow, on the day Title 42 expires. The Securing the Border act, also known as H.R.
Over a dozen groups of immigration experts have described the Secure the Border act as a “forceful” and “serious” effort to stop mass migration at border.
The President has threatened to veto the bill.
Border officials say that once Title 42 expires they may see an increase of up to 14000 encounters per day.
Fox News reported that Customs and Border Protection had apprehended more than 10,000 migrants on Monday and Tuesday. This was the highest number of migrants ever captured in a single day.
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