White House’s Psaki Dodges Question Of Mexico Blaming Biden For Border Surge

Psaki border

On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki dodged and failed to answer questions about Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador pointing to Biden as the cause for the developing crisis on the border. 

Fox News Channel’s Peter Doocy posed the question to Psaki, “Mexico’s president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, said that people coming into the US right now see Biden, President Biden, as the migrant president. Does the White House take that as a compliment?”

Psaki proceeded to give a long, convoluted answer about Mexico being an “important partner” in addressing the immigrant flow. She said that the matter has been addressed both publicly and privately and that officials have told Mexico that the majority of people will be turned away. 

“But the facts are the vast, vast majority of people who come to our border are turned away, and the statistics bear that out.”

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Psaki Ducks And Dives

Psaki’s answer to Doocy’s question: 

“Well, first it’s Mexico will have to be, is an important partner in ensuring we’re addressing the flow of migrants from Central America through Mexico, and many to the border of the United States. We have conveyed privately and publicly, as well, that the majority of people who come to our border will be turned away. We certainly also recognize that because the president and our administration has made a decision that the way to humanely approach immigration is to allow for unaccompanied minors to come and be treated with humanity and be in a safe place while we’re trying to get them into homes and sponsored homes that some more may have come to our border, and there have been, of course, a large flow of children across the border.”

Jen Psaki became a contender for verbal gymnastics this week as reporters tried to confirm the numbers of children coming across the border.

In what seemed like a game of “Who’s on First,” Psaki continued to refer the reporter to the Department of Homeland Security saying, “it’s not our program,” and that the numbers are tracked by DHS.

In another recent White House press briefing, Psaki was taken to task about claims the Biden administration was keeping “kids in cages,” as housing unaccompanied minors was described under the Trump administration.

Psaki stated that the facilities did not constitute putting kids in cages because they were being provided educational services, and other amenities.

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Mexico Becoming Concerned

According to reports, the Mexican government is becoming increasingly concerned about Joe Biden’s border policies. They claim that there has been sharp spike in gang activity at the border.

Mexican officials are saying that “organized crime began changing its modus operandi ‘from the day Biden took office’ and now are exhibiting ‘unprecedented’ levels of sophistication.”

Officials are also claiming that “migrants are being told to bring along children to make it easier to apply for asylum.”

Mexican President Lopez-Obrador has also stated, “They see him as the migrant president, and so many feel they’re going to reach the United States.”

According to Al Jazeera, apprehensions on the U.S. southern border are at levels that have not been seen since 2019, and were the highest for the month of February in 15 years.

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The Politics Of Immigration

Immigration and a border that is near bursting has, in the seven weeks since Joe Biden became president, become a political hotbed. For Democrats, the issue became how to help Joe Biden’s policies appear more humane.

Not all Democrats are in lock step however.

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), whose district covers a large portion of the border, said, “The messaging has to change. The messaging is very very important. They should learn from what happened in 2014. I think, because of the pandemic, I think it’s going to be a humanitarian crisis very, very soon.”

For Republicans, it could turn out to be a juicy 2022 campaign issue. A report from Politico states that the GOP “are stoking fear among their base of ‘super spreader caravans’ of migrants.”  

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) will lead a delegation to the border next week to see the situation firsthand. 

 

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