The NY Times is out with a piece that points to falsehoods being thrown around by Democrats and Republicans about the Biden admin current immigration actions and reality….. and about those of the Trump admin…
Biden officials have inaccurately described the Trump administration’s actions.
WHAT WAS SAID
“The previous administration was expelling these unaccompanied children, some who are girls under the age of 12, for example, back to Mexico. We ended that practice.”
— Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of homeland security, in a congressional hearing on Wednesday.
This is misleading. The practice of expelling unaccompanied children ended thanks to a court ruling before Mr. Biden took office, though his administration declined to resume expulsions when an appeals court decided it could do so.
Citing the threat of the coronavirus and using a public health emergency law known as Title 42, the Trump administration announced last March that it would send back to their home countries people who illegally crossed the southwestern border, rather than detaining and processing them….
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“Unaccompanied children haven’t been expelled since November,” said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, the policy counsel for the American Immigration Council, which advocates on behalf of immigrants. “They chose to keep the status quo in place.”
WHAT WAS SAID
“We inherited a government that had allowed the number of beds to safely and humanely house these children — administered by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of Refugee Resettlement — had allowed it to shrink to a record low number.”
— Ron Klain, Mr. Biden’s chief of staff, in an interview this month on MSNBC.
False. The Biden administration is struggling to find space for migrant children and teenagers who have recently arrived at the border, with some sleeping on gym mats with foil sheets in processing facilities as they wait to be transferred to shelters contracted with the Office of Refugee Resettlement. But Mr. Klain is wrong that the backlog is because the previous administration drastically downsized monthly bed capacity….
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Republicans have mischaracterized Mr. Biden’s immigration policies, especially in relation to the virus.
WHAT WAS SAID
“The Biden border crisis, though, was created by Joe Biden’s promises of amnesty and open borders and free health care for illegals during the campaign.”
— Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, in an interview on Monday on Fox News.
“Yes, the signals that the Biden administration is sending by eliminating the migrant protection program or ‘Remain in Mexico’ program that was negotiated with the Mexican government, and as well as the failure to enforce the Title 42 public health order, which basically give the Border Patrol the ability to keep people out of the country who may infect the U.S. population, basically, they’re ignoring all of that.”
— Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, in an interview on Sunday on Fox News.
This is exaggerated. Both senators were partly accurate in their descriptions of Mr. Biden’s policies.
It is true that Mr. Biden has proposed a pathway for citizenship for the undocumented immigrants currently residing in the United States and revoked the previous administration’s policy that required asylum seekers to remain in Mexico as they awaited decisions on their cases….
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But Mr. Cotton is wrong that Mr. Biden promised “free health care” for undocumented immigrants. A spokesman for Mr. Cotton said the senator was referring to the 2020 campaign, when Mr. Biden raised his hand after Democratic presidential candidates were asked during a 2019 debate whether their health care plans would allow unauthorized immigrants to have access to such care. But there was no mention of “free” health care. Under Mr. Biden’s plan, those immigrants could buy health care plans including a proposed public option on exchanges set up by the Affordable Care Act.
Mr. Cornyn’s reference to Title 42 was also inaccurate. Though the Biden administration has decided not to expel unaccompanied children, despite a court ruling allowing the practice, it has continued Title 42 expulsions of most border crossers. In fact, out of the more than 100,000 encounters at the southwestern border in February, 72,000 led to expulsions…
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Whether or not those specific policies spurred the rise, Ms. Bolter said that Mr. Biden’s promises of a more humane border policy have been one of the factors in increased migration — a point acknowledged by White House officials and by people crossing the border themselves.
But she cautioned that hyperbolic rumors and false advertising might also be at play.
“It’s not like everyone in Central America is paying attention to the specific policy positions to the Biden administration,” Ms. Bolter said. “Smugglers see these opportunities and they exaggerate them.”…
Meanwhile?
The Biden admin IS going ahead with changing how some immigrants are processed
The Biden administration is preparing to expand the phased entry of migrants who were forced to stay in Mexico under a Trump-era policy to two additional ports of entry, the Department of Homeland Security told CNN on Friday.
“Beginning next week, after registering virtually and being tested for COVID-19 at staging sites in Mexico, approved individuals with active (Migrant Protection Protocol) cases will be processed at the Hidalgo, TX port of entry,” the department said in a statement, adding that processing will also start in Laredo, Texas, thereafter.
The effort is specific to migrants who fall under the so-called remain in Mexico policy. Three other locations have already been allowing the entry of migrants under the program.
Under former President Donald Trump, the US forced migrants from Central America and other parts of the world who were seeking asylum at the southern border to stay in Mexico until their immigration court hearings in the US. More than 70,000 people were subject to the program. Many waited months, if not years, in squalid conditions and under the threat of extortion, sexual assault and kidnapping…
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International organizations are assisting with the process in Mexico. After an individual registers virtually and is confirmed as being eligible to enter, they’re asked to approach a staging location 24 hours in advance of their crossing date. At the staging location, migrants are tested for Covid-19. If someone tests positive, they’ll be put in quarantine for 10 days. Individuals must test negative before coming to the US….
More…
I said here that the immigration thing would be The issue Biden HAD to worry about….
Check the frint pages of the Sunday media….
With the virus numbers generally going down?
The media has switched to use Republican talking points against Biden about the border…
The linked piece has inaccuracies all around…
But the general slant copies Trump 2016 talking points which the media and Republican’s are happy to run with….
Biden’s numbers stay solid….
He wants to talk stimulus….
They want to walk past it…
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Sunday defended the Biden administration’s decision to not expel children arriving in the U.S. amid a migrant surge along the southern border, arguing “that’s not who we are.”…
More…
This IS the BULL SHIT we see Republicans selling in the media
Cotton Claims Border Is ‘Wide Open’
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) accused President Joe Biden of inviting a recent surge of migrants to the United States, claiming the border is “wide open,” Politico reports.
Said Cotton: “He’s basically saying the United States will not secure our border and that is a big welcome sign to migrants from across the world.”
…Administration officials say Biden inherited an untenable situation that resulted from what they say was President Donald Trump’s undermining and weakening of the immigration system.
But with Congress pivoting to taking up immigration legislation, images and stories from the border have begun to dominate the headlines, distracting from the White House’s efforts to promote the recently passed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill….
More…
In order for there to be an effective policy ,both sides are going to have to give…
Republicans are going have to accept a certain level of immigration and Democrats are going to have to accept certain limits on allowing people in.
Neither side wants to give any ground so ,besides maybe helping the “Dreamers?”
I see no real progress being made and things will remain in permanent “crisis” mode.
In fact Biden IS going ahead with accepting kids as ordered….
There isn’t gonna be a compromise past the Dreamers i think….
This has been the situation for decades
More GOPer Immigration Bull Shit….
Ducey Cites Border Drug Busts That Never Happened
“Ahead of his visit to the border, intended to draw attention to what he has called a security problem of increasing immigration, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s office issued a news release Thursday touting drug busts supposedly made by its Border Strike Force,” the Arizona Republic reports.
“However, each of the highlighted seizures appeared to have been made through the solid, and routine, work of troopers patrolling the state’s highways. And none took place near the border.”
Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) and GOP Sen. John Cornyn (Texas) are teaming up to urge President Biden to use his “full authorities” to respond to an “ongoing crisis” at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Sinema and Cornyn, who both represent states that share a border with Mexico, sent Biden a letter on Monday asking him to take “immediate action” in two areas: Making sure there are enough “resources and facilities” along the border and improving the asylum process….
More…