WATCH: Biden's White House Says Overwhelming Migrant Wave 'Is Not a Crisis'

Brittany M. Hughes | March 22, 2021
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Denial ain't just a river in Egypt.

The Biden administration on Monday again refused to label the disaster currently taking place at our Southwest U.S. border a "crisis," saying in fact that it's "not a crisis" that unprecedented numbers of migrant teens and families are flooding across from Mexico and overwhelming already maxed-out facilities.

During a White House press briefing, a reporter referenced recently released photos taken by Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar showing dismal conditions inside on Texas border center being used as an overflow facility for migrant teens, where hundreds of bodies were crowded together on concrete floors under space blankets behind chain-link fences.

"Now that the public has seen that, is that not a crisis? And what conditions, or situations, what metrics would have to be in place for the administration to call it that?" the reporter asked.

“Children presenting at our border, who are fleeing violence, who are fleeing prosecution, who are fleeing terrible situations is not a crisis,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki responded.

“We feel that it is our responsibility to humanely approach this circumstance and make sure that they are treated and put in conditions that are safe,” Psaki went on, dodging any suggestion that the Biden administration has triggered a migrant tsunami that it can’t possibly manage.

“These photos show what we’ve long been saying, which is that these border facilities are not places made for children. They are not places where we want children to be staying for an extended period of time,” she said, adding, “Our alternative is to send children back on this treacherous journey. That is not, in our view, the right choice to make.”


 

Psaki added that the administration’s goal is now to “put in place policies” including “expediting processing” to make sure unaccompanied children and families with kids aren’t being kept in overcrowded facilities for long.

As for what those policies might be, border agents in the busiest sector of the Southwest U.S. border are reportedly considering releasing illegal aliens who claim asylum without first issuing them a notice to appear in court, citing a lack of space in border processing facilities. The new policy would place the responsibility of independently setting up a court hearing on the migrant.

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