Katko: Biden Detached From Reality At Southwest Border

WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. John Katko (R-NY), Ranking Member of the House Homeland Security Committee, issued the following statement on President Biden’s concerning comments on the crisis at the southwest border during his first press conference:

“I continue to be deeply concerned with the Administration’s inability to manage its self-inflicted crisis at the border. Today, President Biden demonstrated how detached he is from the havoc his reckless policies are creating for our border communities, border patrol agents, and overall homeland security.

“It’s clear President Biden has not spent any time with our border patrol agents on the front lines, listening to their concerns, needs, or pleas for help.

“In a series of tone-deaf comments, the President falsely claimed that the commonsense border security policies that he reversed with executive order didn’t work. This is totally false. The ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy did exactly that—required those migrants looking to claim asylum in the U.S. to remain in Mexico. Biden also cancelled agreements with our foreign partners which previously returned migrants to seek asylum in countries closer to home, and in turn discouraged them from making the dangerous journey to the U.S.

“Predictably, President Biden continued to dodge accountability and blamed the surge at the border on conditions that have existed for decades, such as crime, poverty, and natural disasters. The American people see through this and know that President Biden’s loose policies and rhetoric have encouraged migrants to make the dangerous journey to our border. Even DHS Secretary Mayorkas admitted during a Congressional hearing last week that we are on track to seeing the highest numbers at the border in 20 years.

“While he admitted the over-capacity CBP facilities are unacceptable, he allowed it to get this bad by inviting the surge and would not provide a timeframe to address the overcrowding and unsafe conditions. This is all unacceptable.  

“Furthermore, in a room full of journalists, President Biden still could not provide any details on his ‘plan’ for allowing press access to CBP facilities. Committing to transparency only when it is convenient is not transparency at all. It is an outrage that Americans across the country have no insight into the growing crisis at the border.

“While the Biden Administration seeks to lay blame at others’ feet, Mexico’s President Obrador said ‘expectations were created’ by President Biden that left Central American migrants with the perception they would be let in the U.S.

“President Biden’s first press conference failed to give the American people any confidence in the Administration’s ability to address the growing disorder at the southern border and secure our homeland. The Administration must admit its mistakes and come to the table with Republicans to enact sensible border security measures.”

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