Karine Jean-Pierre, the press secretary for the White House, reiterated on Monday that President Biden’s statement that the US border is not secure is true.
Nevertheless, Jean-Pierre sidestepped the question of why Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had told Congress time and time again that the border is secure. The border system, according to the White House, is “broken” and requires additional funding.
“In contrast to Secretary Mayorkas’ repeated testimony on the Hill, President Biden stated on Friday that he does not think the border is secure. A reporter questioned, “Why do they have two different opinions about border security?”
Jean-Pierre retorted, “The president has been really clear that we need to move on the border.”
“His statement that we must address border security, as Mayorkas and I have been doing here at the White House, I believe indicates that we have a problem at the border and that we must address it quickly. There is an immediate need.
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Biden acknowledges that the border is not secure: “Mayorkas, who is responsible for ensuring that those resources are applied, should be questioned if his assessment of the border’s security differs from that of the president. The reporter pressed, “I guess I’m having trouble understanding why there’s a disconnect here.
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Jean-Pierre shot back, pointing to immigration proposals he had put forward over the previous three years. “Look, the president has repeatedly said the immigration system is broken,” Jean-Pierre said.
The administration of Biden aims to minimize the historic high levels of undocumented immigration that were observed in the latter part of 2023. In December, the number of migrants arrested at the southwest U.S. border was as high as 10,000 per day, although the White House attempted to characterize it as a seasonal uptick.
November saw 242,418 migrant encounters at the southern border, making it the third-highest month ever and the highest November on record.
Republicans on Capitol Hill are working to impeach Mayorkas in the meantime.
“Down here, this one man is the mastermind of havoc. All of this chaos, including 8 million encounters without a legal status, deaths from fentanyl poisoning, and danger to the nation from incoming terrorists, has been brought about by one man. The architect is him. Rep. Michael McCaul, a Republican from Texas, told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on Sunday that “he has destroyed the fabric of this nation.”