When a building falls apart, who do you turn to for a solid assessment on its structure? If you happen to be the New York Times (NYT), you might just highlight the insights of a non-medical architect who’s linked to the roof issue.
“I was one of Biden’s border advisers. Here’s how to fix the immigration system,” reads a headline by Blas Nuñez-Neto, who served as the Secretary for Border and Immigration Policy at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) during the Biden administration. It’s interesting, I guess, considering the context. The headline has been met with laughter and skepticism.
One social media user pointed out, “This is like an arsonist claiming they can extinguish the flames.” Another chimed in with a playful jab: “I’m a Humpty Dumpty. Here’s how to sit on the wall,” referencing an official DHS post.
Even Vice President JD Vance commented on the article, poking fun at the NYT headline while engaging with the crowd at a rally in Pennsylvania. “What does he know about fixing our immigration system?” Vance quipped. He noted how the Biden administration had, in his view, contributed to the very issues they’re now trying to address.
Continuing his commentary, Vance brought up some amusing responses from his team, saying, “One of my guys sent me this: ‘I’m a Cincinnati Bengals player, and this is how you win the Super Bowl.’” It seems like there’s quite a bit of mirth circulating around the discussion surrounding the NYT piece.
Nuñez-Neto makes his points regarding the flow of illegal crossings during the Biden tenure, calling it a “crisis” by reasonable definitions. However, he quickly shifts the narrative, blaming a mix of broken immigration laws, a lack of resources, and bipartisan failures. It’s almost like he’s grasping for scapegoats.
He even noted that previous Republican presidents saw similar surges in migration. But what are his proposed solutions? Nuñez-Neto praised what he called an “innovative approach” by the DHS to manage the illegal transitions from Venezuela, stating that financial assistance for Venezuelans could facilitate travel to the U.S.
He claimed that this Venezuelan process had noticeably reduced irregular border movements. Yet, you might wonder—just how accurate is that? Marking down a car accident as merely a “vehicle encounter” doesn’t really alleviate the underlying problems, right?
Interestingly, on the same day Nuñez-Neto’s essay appeared, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported historic lows in illegal crossings. Despite this, Nuñez-Neto was critical of former President Trump’s border strategies, suggesting they came at a significant constitutional cost.
Ultimately, it seems Nuñez-Neto is busy crafting excuses. He may have less time to showcase his ability to formulate effective policies, or maybe he doesn’t recognize what success looks like.
