President Joe Biden had a speech marking his 100th day in office interrupted by protesters calling for him to “abolish ICE” and “end private detention centers” for illegal immigrants.
The incident took place Thursday at a drive-in rally near Atlanta.
The President initially joked with the immigration activists who were shouting “end detention now.”
“We’ll give you a microphone,” Biden quipped.
The hecklers continued, chanting such phrases as “abolish ICE” and “communities not prisons.”
One remark sparked Biden to hint at possible looming action on immigration reform.
“End private detention centers now — please!” a person shouted.
“I agree with you, I’m working on it, man,” he said. “Give me another five days.”
JUST IN – “Give me another five days,” Biden promises after hecklers yelled “close private detention centers. Abolish ICE”pic.twitter.com/fFJma9KlZh
— Disclose.tv ? (@disclosetv) April 29, 2021
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Biden Wants To End Private Detention Centers
Biden would later tell reporters he was “teasing them (the hecklers)” about having something done in five days.
The video does show that he was replying to the comments referencing private detention centers, not those calling for ICE to be abolished.
“Folks, you all know what they’re talking about,” he said. “There should be no private prisons, period. None, period. That’s what they’re talking about, private detention centers. They should not exist, and we’re working to close all of them.”
In January, Biden signed an executive order to end the federal use of private prisons.
In it, the President explains that correctional facilities “should ensure that time in prison prepares individuals for the next chapter of their lives.”
Brief interruption from a group who say they voted for Biden, calling for the abolition of ICE and immigrant detention. pic.twitter.com/3gHobJBO7b
— Emma Hurt (@Emma_Hurt) April 29, 2021
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Kids In Cages
While President Biden’s executive order indicates he has more faith in federally-run prisons than private detention centers, his own facilities have come under fire as well.
Though she refused to refer to them as “concentration camps” or “kids in cages,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) ripped the Biden administration in February for opening what the Washington Post called a “migrant facility for children.”
“This is not okay, never has been okay, never will be okay – no matter the administration or party,” AOC tweeted.
She went on to make suggestions for reform to the immigration system which included such ideas as “DHS (Department of Homeland Security) shouldn’t exist,” and “ICE gotta go.”
It’s only 2 mos into this admin & our fraught, unjust immigration system will not transform in that time.
That’s why bold reimagination is so impt.
DHS shouldn’t exist, agencies should be reorganized, ICE gotta go, ban for-profit detention, create climate refugee status & more.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 23, 2021
In an interview with NBC News Biden claimed “we’ve now gotten control” as his border crisis continues to rage and facilities continue to be overrun with migrants.
In reality, there were over 172,000 border apprehensions in March with an equal number projected for April.
There are a record number of unaccompanied children crossing the border and roughly 1,000 illegal immigrants escaping into the U.S. every day.
WASHINGTON (AP) — US says nearly 19,000 kids picked up traveling alone across Mexican border in March, largest monthly number ever tallied.
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) April 8, 2021
Hundreds of thousands of people are currently being encountered at the border and President Biden’s HHS Secretary says the detention centers are currently “at capacity.”
The reality is, those private detention centers might be necessary to actually help get the Biden border crisis under control in the real world, and not just in his head.
In the same NBC interview, the President was asked about family separations at the border and why, “according to our reporting,” not one child has been reunited with their families during his first 100 days.
“I don’t think that’s true, but that could be,” Biden replied.
Q During campaign, you pledged to reunite 100s of children who had been separated from their parents by the previous admin. According to our reporting, in your first 100 days, not one child has been reunited.
“I don’t think that’s true, but that could be,” Biden tells @NBC. pic.twitter.com/MHWbFrBPcx
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) April 30, 2021
“The thing is, we don’t know yet where those kids are. We’re trying like hell to figure out what happened,” Biden said prior to adding, “It’s almost like being a sleuth.”
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