White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is getting slammed for telling a whopper of a false claim about the situation at the southern border.
During a press briefing on Monday, Jean-Pierre insisted, “[President Joe Biden] has tools that he’s used to make sure we do this. We actually deal with the immigration system in a humane way, in a way that actually deals with what we’re seeing at the border.”
“And that’s why you’ve seen the parolee program be so successful. When it comes to illegal immigration, you’ve seen it come down by more than 90%. And that’s because of this, the actions that this president has taken,” she claimed.
Watch the video below:
Jean-Pierre: "When it comes to illegal migration, you have seen it come down by more than 90%.”
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) May 1, 2023
pic.twitter.com/unGIAQQswv
Author Scott Greer tweeted, “The community notes will fact check this, but the media won’t. So this will stand as a true statement for people who get their news from traditional sources.”
The community notes will fact check this, but the media won't. So this will stand as a true statement for people who get their news from traditional sources https://t.co/ipbh39IE1l
— Scott Greer 6’2” IQ 187 (@ScottMGreer) May 2, 2023
“This might be the worst lie ever told by a White House Press Secretary,” tweeted comedian Tim Young.
This might be the worst lie ever told by a White House Press Secretary:
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) May 2, 2023
"When it comes to illegal migration, you have seen it come down by more than 90%, and that’s because of the actions that this president has taken." – Karine Jean-Pierre pic.twitter.com/VheR51YXWr
The Washington Free Beacon’s Chuck Ross wrote, “Maybe the biggest lie from the White House podium so far this year.”
Maybe the biggest lie from the White House podium so far this year https://t.co/5oKIl0erkP
— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) May 1, 2023
Check out some more reactions below:
#disinformation https://t.co/xkCBK4euJG
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) May 2, 2023
Lies. https://t.co/SpPc7VtmTf
— Idaho GOP (@IdahoGOP) May 2, 2023
This is a lie. Illegal immigration is not “down 90%.”
— GOP (@GOP) May 1, 2023
Over 6.3 million illegal immigrants have crossed the border since Biden took office, and over 1.2 million in just the last 6 months.https://t.co/ZgLT63KaNE
There’s lies, and there’s damn lies https://t.co/kMP1x0wfO3
— Media Right News (@MediaRightNews1) May 2, 2023
SHE IS SO BAD AT HER JOB — completely useless and an affront to smart, taxpaying Americans.
— Jake Schneider (@jacobkschneider) May 1, 2023
Why is the press putting up with it? https://t.co/GKc89e5DOA
Several “Community Notes” pointed out there were 2.76 million illegal border crossings in the 2022 fiscal year, setting a new record. And there were 1.7 million in the 2021 fiscal year.
However, Jean-Pierre is somewhat correct about a decrease in illegal border crossings.
President Joe Biden and his administration have implemented stricter immigration measures aimed at curtailing illegal border crossings. And so far, it does appear they have had an impact.
But not to the tune of “more than 90%.”
NBC News reported U.S. Border Patrol officials encountered migrants 128,877 times in February, and 128,913 in January.
The February numbers are the lowest since Feb. 2021, and far lower than the 221,693 encounters in Dec. 2022. However, those numbers do not account for a 90% drop off in illegal border crossings.
But what about the March numbers? According to Border Patrol officials, the number of encounters at the border rose to 162,317, up 25% from February.
Still, officials said the number of encounters in March marked a 23% decrease from the previous year.
So there has been a decrease, just nowhere near the “more than 90%” that Jean-Pierre claimed. Unless she somehow conflated the monthly numbers with the annual numbers, it is entirely unclear where that apparently made-up statistic came from.
