Sen. Tom Cotton says President Biden’s pivot on immigration policy from his predecessor may as well be coined “recruit and release.”
The Arkansas Republican told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham Monday evening that White House press secretary Jen Psaki is being disingenuous when she says the administration needs to “work more on getting the [immigration policy] message out and being very clear.”
“When a politician tells you that there’s a messaging or communications problem, what they really mean is they have a reality problem,” Mr. Cotton said. “And the reality problem is that they created a crisis at our southern border by inviting the entire world to show up and claim asylum.”
The comment comes against a policy backdrop in which throngs of asylum seekers, many from South America, have converged on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Mr. Biden canceled cooperation agreements with Central American countries that were in place during former President Trump’s tenure.
“Despite Biden’s denials of a crisis brewing, The New York Times is reporting just moments ago that the number of unaccompanied migrant children detained along the southern border has tripled in the last two weeks alone to more than 3,250,” the “Ingraham Angle” host said. “More than 1,360 of the children have been detained beyond the 72 hours permitted by law before a child must be transferred to a shelter.”
“Joe Biden’s administration is seeking out those illegal aliens that Donald Trump turned away and inviting them to come back to the border,” Mr. Cotton replied. “We’ve gone far beyond catch and release. This is recruit and release. They’re specifically recruiting illegal aliens who we already turned away once to come back so they can be let go into the country.”
The senator then said that most asylum seekers will be turned away.
“Almost all of these claims will be rejected,” Mr. Cotton said. “The simple fact is if you’re from Central America, and you’re seeking asylum, you do that at the southern border of Mexico. When you get all the way to the southern border of United States, you’re no longer seeking asylum, you’re seeking a better job and better living conditions.”
President Biden and the Democratic Party don’t believe there is a crisis at our southern border because they don’t believe in borders.
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) March 9, 2021
The American people affected by this crisis know better. pic.twitter.com/fJdkyP4nX4
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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