President Joe Biden, wearing a brown leather jacket and black baseball cap, stepped out on the South Lawn of the White House on Saturday morning en route to Marine One.
He was flying to Camp David for the weekend. But first he stopped to talk to some reporters.
“Mr. President” is one of them. Asked“Would you call the situation at the southern border a 'crisis'?” (Related: Matt Egan: Senate border bill is a bust)
Biden said “no,” according to White House records. “But I hope they will respond. I've been pushing my Republican colleagues since I took office. I think we have to make big changes at the border. We've been pushing. I'm prepared to make significant changes at the border. And we've been in negotiations for the last five weeks, so I'm hopeful that we can get to a conclusion.”
Another reporter asked Biden, “If Republicans don't pass additional funding, are you prepared to take executive action on the border to address the border crisis?”
“Well, Republicans have to pass funding,” Biden said. “They have to — I read one Republican say, 'We don't want a border (inaudible). It'll only help Biden.'”
“I've been calling for fundamental changes on the border for a long time. For a long time,” Biden said. “So, I'm hopeful. I'm going to let those negotiations continue. But other than that, I'm going to act on my own.”
Ten days before Mr. Biden's interaction with reporters, House Speaker Mike Johnson led a group of more than 60 House Republicans to the U.S.-Mexico border in Eagle Pass, Texas. As these lawmakers held a press conference on the banks of the Rio Grande, a group of illegal aliens began crossing the river behind them. A reporter mentioned this to House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan on stage, according to CSPAN records.
Jordan wasn't surprised.
Scores of reporters moved behind the members of Congress to document illegal aliens entering the United States.
San Antonio-based ABC affiliate KSAT was one of the news outlets that captured their footage.
“On Wednesday, KSAT photojournalist Gavin Nesbitt spotted an immigrant family of five crossing the Rio Grande as House Speaker Mike Johnson and other congressional Republicans held a press conference on immigration nearby,” the station said. It was captured.'' report on its website.
“Two adults and three children were visible from the press conference venue entering Eagle Pass, Texas, from Mexico,” the statement said. “Border Patrol agents called out to the migrants in Spanish to turn back.
KSAT reported that “staff members gave water to the children in their pajamas as the families entered the United States.” Then they loaded the family into the van. ”
Is Biden correct that there is no crisis at the border? Or was the fact that people were illegally crossing the border right behind the Speaker and members of Congress holding a press conference at the border deeply symbolic of that very crisis?
In fiscal year 2020, the last full fiscal year of President Donald Trump's presidency, Border Patrol intercepted 400,000 foreign nationals attempting to enter the United States illegally between ports of entry, according to data released by Customs and Border Protection. 5,036 people were encountered.
The number sharply increased in fiscal year 2021, when President Biden took office.
In a report released on May 16, 2023, the Congressional Research Service stated, “The number of USBP encounters in fiscal year 2021 increased significantly to nearly 1.7 million, which was the highest number ever recorded at the time.'' Ta.
“In fiscal year 2022, the United States Border Patrol (USBP) encountered more than 2.2 million aliens (aliens) illegally entering the United States between ports of entry, the largest number in history,” CRS said. .
In fiscal year 2023, Border Patrol encountered an additional 2,063,692 aliens illegally entering the United States between ports of entry, according to data released by Customs and Border Protection. (Related: Laura Hollis: Biden's Border Failure Is All Part of the Plan)
This is a 244% increase from the 405,036 people Border Patrol encountered during President Trump's last full fiscal year.
The surge included children who came here without their parents.
In a report released on June 28, 2023, the Congressional Research Service states that an “unaccompanied alien child” is defined as “an unaccompanied alien child who has parents who do not have legal U.S. immigration status and are readily available to care for them in the United States.” It is legally defined as a minor under the age of 18 who does not have a parent or legal guardian. and physical custody. ”
“Since early 2021, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) ) are documented annually.” High level. “
“Since February 2021, the number of UC encounters has consistently exceeded 8,500 per month, higher than any period since CBP began releasing statistics,” the CRS report said. It has been stated.
As previously noted in this column, the Border Patrol has also seen an increase in recent years on its watch list for terrorists attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.
That number increased from just three in 2020 to 169 in 2023. In other words, approximately 56 times as many people on terrorist watch lists were arrested attempting to sneak across the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2023 as in fiscal year 2020.
Is it because Biden has done a better job on border security than Trump? Or is it because Biden is leading a border crisis that threatens the security of this country?
Terrence P. Jeffrey is an investigative editor at the Daily Caller News Foundation.
To learn more about Terrence P. Jeffrey and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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