"This Is Unacceptable": Blue States Blast Biden Over Border Blunders As Backlash Intensifies
Blue states buckling under the strain of hundreds of thousands of migrants bussed into their Democratic strongholds are blaming President Joe Biden for not doing enough to curb the influx of illegals.
The latest politician to blast Biden is Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who told Biden in a Monday letter that his state is in an "untenable situation," and that the feds need to take "swift action."
In August, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) joined with business leaders to implore the administration to do something about the "humanitarian crisis" that's overwhelmed New York City with more than 100,000 migrants.
The next month, NYC Mayor Eric Adams predicted that the migrant crisis "will destroy New York City."
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D), meanwhile, issued a state of emergency in August in response to the illegal migrant crisis, telling DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a letter that her state has taken action "to address what sadly has been a federal crisis of inaction."
White House officials are scrambling to respond - and have already fumbled the ball on the border wall. Earlier last week, reports emerged that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said, in an official document, that there is "an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers" along the US border- while the Biden administration waived 26 federal laws to build more border wall.
Two days later, he backpedaled furiously, claiming "There is no new administration policy with respect to the border wall," adding "From day one, this Administration has made clear that a border wall is not the answer. That remains our position and our position has never wavered. The language in the Federal Register notice is being taken out of context and it does not signify any change in policy whatsoever," the statement continues.
NEW: After quite literally saying there is an "immediate need to construct physical barriers" at the southern border, DHS Secretary Mayorkas says we are all taking him out of context.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 6, 2023
The utter incompetence by this administration is astounding.
In an attempt to gaslight the… pic.twitter.com/9X3Xy73DfD
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tried to downplay the move, arguing that the government is following Trump-era laws but still does not believe in the wall's effectiveness.
"We believe that we need border technology that is modernized and land ports of entry. And that’s what we want to see," she told reporters on Thursday, adding that Biden "does not believe it is effective. He has been very clear about that."
Jean-Pierre added that the wall funds were from a Trump-era border appropriations bill.
"We asked Congress to reappropriate the funds," she said, "But they’ve refused, and so now we’re moving forward."
More via The Epoch Times;
Biden Trying to Appease Democratic Leaders: Border Experts
The White House is acting in accordance with the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which forbids the President or other government officials from bypassing Congress in making funding decisions. This is not, however, the primary reason why the administration is restarting the construction of the wall, according to Andrew Arthur, resident fellow in law and policy for the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington-based think tank.The decision is clearly “driven by a need to respond to concerns voiced by Democratic-elected officials in northern U.S. cities,” Mr. Arthur told The Epoch Times.
“Barriers will help agents in the apprehension and processing of illegal entrants, but they will do nothing to discourage those migrants improper entries absent a concomitant policy shift—but at least the administration can claim that it is ‘doing something.’”
'We're Here Abandoned'
Last month, Mayor Rolando Salinas of Eagle Pass, Texas, a Democrat, criticized President Biden for the border crisis. In an interview with CNN, he complained that the White House had not communicated with him while thousands of illegal immigrants poured into his small city."We're here abandoned. We're on the border, we're asking for help. This is unacceptable," he said.
In a recent letter to the White House, Gov. Pritzker also raised a similar concern, urging that "there be one person in the federal government" who works directly for the president and is in charge of overseeing efforts at the border.
When asked about this request, Ms. Jean-Pierre said, “There are multiple folks” at the White House who have been in contact with governors across the country.
“Look, let’s not forget, we provided a billion dollars to those counties, states, cities who are dealing with this issue,” she said. “It is an issue that’s incredibly important to this president."
