Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre point-blank on Monday how long Vice President Kamala Harris has thought President Joe Biden has done a bad job handling the border crisis.
Doocy pressed Jean-Pierre on Harrisâ campaign promise to increase the number of border agents to mitigate the flow of migrants illegally entering the U.S. The vice president, who was appointed by President Joe Biden in March 2021 to address âroot causesâ of migration in Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries, has flip-flopped on her positions regarding illegal Immigration throughout her time in the administration and as a U.S. senator.
âHow long have you guys known that Vice President Kamala Harris does not think President Biden is doing a good job at the border?â Doocy asked, followed by Jean-Pierre asking him to repeat the question. âWell, sheâs now promising to hire thousands more border agents than there are now under President Biden.â
Jean-Pierre accused Doocy of interpreting Harrisâ beliefs, and accused congressional Republicans and Republican nominee Donald Trump of âgetting in the wayâ of adding more agents to the U.S.-Mexico border.
âThe president does want more Border Patrol agents,â Jean-Pierre said. âYou know whoâs getting in the way? Republicans in Congress. Theyâre getting in the way. You know who else is getting in the way? The former president, Donald Trump. Heâs getting in the way. I mean, thereâs no daylight here. Iâm not getting the question because thereâs no daylight. The president believes that as well and heâs worked toward doing that.â
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Jean-Pierre referenced the Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, which intended allocate funds toward hiring more Border Patrol agents and Immigration judges to expedite the Immigration process. The legislation also intended to remove foreign nationals who enter the U.S. illegally once a week-long average of entrants exceeded 5,000 persons a day.
Senate Republicans blocked the advancement of the bill in a 49-50 vote on Feb. 7. House Speaker Mike Johnson warned the legislation would be âdead on arrivalâ in the House.
The Harris campaign has released a slew of ads claiming the vice president intends to increase border security and mitigate the crisis. One ad released in July claims Harris supports increasing the number of Border Patrol agents, implementing new technology to block drugs from entering the U.S. and spending more money to stop human traffickers.
Retired Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott, who led the agency while Harris served as âborder czar,â told the Daily Caller News Foundation on Aug. 8 that the vice president never once spoke to him.
Scott also told the DCNF that the Biden-Harris administration âredirected millions and millionsâ from enforcement operations in order to process more illegal immigrants into the U.S., and accused the administration of redirecting taxpayer resources to NGOs in order to fly more illegal immigrants to âwherever they want to goâ instead of prioritizing enforcement.
NumbersUSA, an organization supporting more âsensible Immigration,â awarded Harris an F- rating for her support of a number of bills that it says would have weakened border security.
As senator, Harris comparedImmigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) to the Ku Klux Klan in 2018 and suggested the agency should be abolished. She further expressed support for granting healthcare coverage to illegal immigrants in 2020.
(Featured Image Media Credit:Â Screenshot/White House press briefing)
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