Border Crisis
Border Crisis: McCarthy Calls out Brandon on his Failures at with Border Protection
On Tuesday, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy stated that President Joe Biden has “failed to listen or act” on the southern border crisis. He also warned against a possible move by the administration to stop the implementation of Title 43 border protections, right as February's border numbers saw a 63% increase compared to the same time last year.
McCarthy released a statement to Fox News, in which he noted that a year ago, he and his fellow House Republicans went to the southern border to caution people about the brewing crisis, which they have kept on blaming on Biden’s rollback of border policies made during Trump’s administration.
“One year ago today, House Republicans first sounded the alarm at the southern border and for over a year President Biden has failed to listen or act,” McCarthy said.
The representative was responding to newly reported border numbers, which show that in February, the border patrol encountered 164,973 illegal migrants, which is a 63% increase from the 101,099 from February 2021.
The Biden administration has blamed root causes, such as poverty and climate change, along with the Trump administration’s move on ending legal asylum pathways, for the spike in migrant encounters over the last year. In FY2021, 1.7 million encounters have been recorded. So far, in FY 2021, 838,685 encounters have already been recorded.
However, Republicans have instead blamed Biden’s rollback of Trump-era policies, including the Migrant Protection Protocols and the construction of the border wall, for the ongoing border crisis.
Republicans have also been warning Americans regarding reports that claim Biden will end Title 42, which have been used by the former and the current administration to expel migrants heading to the border due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many top Democrats have been pushing for this to be scrapped, and the Biden administration has already been planning to do so, even while many still fear that this will result in a new spike in migrants coming into the border. Recently, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said it’s “unacceptable” that Title 42 continues to be implemented.
However, McCarthy described Title 42 as an “essential tool” in maintaining security at the border. He also warned that stopping it would only worsen the ongoing crisis.
“Instead of working with Republicans to secure the border, crack down on violent cartels, end the epidemic of human trafficking, and stop the flow of deadly fentanyl into our communities, the Biden administration is considering eliminating an essential tool in border security, Title 42, which would only exacerbate this unprecedented crisis,” he said.
“Biden must remove the incentives for illegal immigration and take steps to secure our southern border immediately,” he went on to say.
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