On Tuesday’s broadcast of CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said President Joe Biden has not abolished border policies implemented by former President Donald Trump, and that Biden “We just abolished the tear-and-tear policy,” he said. It’s true that children can leave their parents’ arms. He also said, “Just as the dire situation in Latin America is pushing people out, so too is our economy.”
After Buttigieg criticized Republicans for opposing the Senate border bill, co-host Joe Kernen said: will be a major issue in the campaign, but that’s when the Biden administration became interested in it. …But every time we hear these talking points, all of a sudden, it was the Republicans who destroyed the border, and that’s why people get so frustrated. We know what President Biden said about inviting people. We know that President Trump removed everything that kept the border closed. So, when I say it’s not his fault–“
Buttigieg then interjected: “That’s literally not true.” It’s literally not true that he was eliminated—”
Mr. Buttigieg and Mr. Kernen then spoke to each other, and Mr. Kernen said the border was much better under the Trump administration, and Mr. Buttigieg said, “Okay, he ended family separation. We have abolished the policy of tearing people apart, that’s true. But some of the other things that have been suggested are not true.”
Buttigieg then turned to bipartisan efforts on immigration reform, which he said have existed for many years.
Buttigieg then said, “The previous administration cut legal immigration. And in the meantime, our economy is pulling people in just as much as the terrible conditions in Latin America are pulling people in. And these… Even if a bipartisan compromise was finally reached that would have helped address at least part of the problem, Republicans in Congress were unable to get it done because unelected Donald Trump Because Trump killed it. That’s a fact.”
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