President Biden has refused to restore some of the most effective border policies of the Trump era, blaming America's southern neighbor for the large influx of migrants into the United States, House Speaker Mike Johnson recalled Thursday.
Johnson (R-Louisiana) said in an interview with the Post that even after migrant arrivals begin to break records in late 2023 and 2024, the 81-year-old Biden has reversed course and said his predecessor's “Remain in Mexico ” refused to reinstate the policy, he said.
Mr. Johnson, 52, detailed his plea to the president, “I want him to 'remain in Mexico' again.'' “I personally begged Biden himself to do that, and he said he wasn’t going to do that.”
When asked about Johnson's retelling, the 81-year-old Biden flatly replied, “It's complicated.” “Mexico doesn't want that.”
“I said, 'You don't have to make it more complicated. You just need to show leadership,'” the speaker continued. “'With all due respect, you are the president of the United States. It doesn't matter what Mexico wants. You tell them.'
The Trump administration launched the “Remain in Mexico” policy to force migrants to wait for immigration court hearings south of the border rather than in the interior of the United States.
By contrast, the Biden administration has released more than 85% of immigrants who have crossed the border into the United States, immigration court proceedings have reached a record high of 3 million cases, and some asylum seekers are waiting up to 10 days before their hearings. I ended up having to wait a year. .
When Johnson called for tougher border policies, all Biden said was that “things have changed.”
“Yes, they've changed, okay. I mean, by my count, I think there's been over 16 million illegal aliens in this country in the last four years. We're going to deal with it for a long time, “the rest of our lives,'' the speaker said of the fateful move.
Then-Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he respected U.S. sovereignty when asked about his relationship with Biden in March.
“Every time I talk to President Biden, the first thing he says is that our relationship has to be on equal footing,” López Obrador told CBS News' “60 Minutes.”
The House speaker and other Republicans have said that law enforcement officials are crediting Remain in Mexico for reducing the mass influx of asylum seekers and other border crossers by 70% under the Trump administration. He said there was.
On Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris also refused to take responsibility for the consequences of the policy during a tense interview with Fox News anchor Bret Baier.
“Looking back, do you regret your decision to end Remain in Mexico at the beginning of your administration?” Bayer asked.
Harris, 59, pointed out that at least two immigration bills have failed to pass even one chamber of Congress, faced opposition from Democrats, and would still admit up to 1.8 million immigrants a year into the United States. deflected.
Unlike their predecessors, both Harris and Biden have supported an expedited asylum process that has brought at least 6 million known immigrants to the United States. Nearly 2 million “fugitives” have also entered the country fleeing insecurity.
Since then, hundreds of thousands of asylum cases have been closed by the government, granting what is essentially a “mass amnesty” to clear the backlog.
“I went from San Diego to southeast Texas, to the border and hot spots, many times,” Johnson told the Post Thursday. “And the story is [law enforcement] They aren't even allowed to count the people they see. ”
“[GOP Rep.] “Andy Barr, from Kentucky, was visiting about three months ago and was just upset,” Johnson said. “Border Patrol agents…found and were observing a group of nine young men of military age in both ability and appearance. They were approximately 20 yards away…and… went into the forest.”
“They are [the lawmakers are] I'm standing next to this group of Border Patrol agents. And they said, 'Are you going to do something? ’” the Republican continued. “And they [the migrants] disappear into the forest. Then they said, “Then how do you explain those nine people?” … Those 9 people, is that your “vacation”? ”
“They are [the border agents] I said, “No, it's not.” They're not on the list. ”
“What do you mean?” asked confused Republicans, according to Johnson. “They ran away.”
“We can't count them until we can actually see them disappear over the horizon and we know they didn't turn around and cross the border,” Johnson said. Border Patrol agents said they notified lawmakers.
“We have dangerous people, terrorists, etc., so even though the FBI director has testified many times, All the red lights are flashing.” Continental United States on Election Day 2024.
“The enemy is among us. It's here,” the House speaker warned, criticizing Harris, Biden and Cabinet members for allowing the high-risk entry.
“Border debacle with Harris [Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro] Mr. Mayorkas, that's why we took the extreme step of impeaching him in the House,” Johnson said, “because desperate times called for desperate measures.” .
