Increasing border security is said to be a priority action item for Republicans poised to take control of the House of Representatives when the new Congress convenes in January. Mounting problems at the border prompted White House correspondent Peter Doocy to ask President Joe Biden if he was planning to visit border crossing areas during his forthcoming visit to Arizona.
“Why go to a border state and not visit the border?” Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked.
“Because there are more important things going on,” Biden responded. “They’re going to invest billions of dollars in a new enterprise.”
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The Biden administration’s policies concerning the border have prompted multiple lawsuits and significant pushback from southern state governors.
Texas and Arizona are defying federal authorities and setting up their own border walls. Texas has called up the National Guard to assist in defending the border, and Florida, Arizona and Texas have bussed undocumented immigrants to northern “sanctuary cities.”
Republicans have complained that leading democrats, such as border czar Vice President Kamala Harris, have either not visited the border or, like Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, have declared “the border is secure.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was roundly criticized last week when she stated that President Joe Biden had been to the U.S.-Mexico border — a statement proven grievously misleading.
President Biden’s decision to reject incoming House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s invitation to join him in visiting the border during his planned trip to Arizona further angered those with border security concerns.
Dismissing the invitation, Biden said Tuesday, “There are more important things.”
Fox News reported that “The U.S. has seen record levels of illegal immigration throughout the Biden administration,” noting that in October, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported a record 230,000 “border encounters.”
CBP sources told Fox News that the 2022 fiscal year, which ended on September 30, noted a record 2,378,944 “migrant encounters.” The report noted that the figure does not include the 599,000 that are reported “gotaways.”
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