I guess he’s Donald Trump now? The problem with this line from Biden is that it goes against everything he said during the campaign, and given how slowly and imprecisely American news can travel in Latin America, nothing said today will change what’s already happening on the border. In a 2019 Democratic primary debate, Biden proclaimed that he was going to “surge the border” with asylum seekers if he took office.
Further, for the entirety of 2020, the now president lambasted Donald Trump as inhumane and virtue signaled constantly about how he’d handle the border differently, increase resources, and process more people. Sure enough, when Biden took office, he did handle it differently. He limited enforcement, rescinded the remain in Mexico policy, and canceled the building of the wall. In other words, he hung a great big “welcome” sign on the border for illegal immigrants. Now, as the crisis deepens, he’s desperately trying to take it back and pretend this isn’t his fault.
In fact, during this interview, Biden lied about why illegal immigrants are saying they are making the dangerous, sometimes deadly journey.
Actually, yes, they are saying that. Heck, some are even wearing Joe Biden t-shirts. Over and over, roving reporters have gotten quotes from illegal immigrants saying they are coming because of Biden’s approach to the border. The president can’t now act as if his rhetoric and policies didn’t cause this because they absolutely did.
In the end, you can’t encourage illegal immigration for years, including promising them things like free healthcare, and then shift on a dime and expect it to matter. Biden could have come into office with some humility and continued the successful policies of the Trump administration at the border. Instead, he sought to appease his left-wing base and has fomented a completely preventable humanitarian crisis. Things didn’t have to be this way, and the current and coming blood is on his hands.