The Biden administration is sinking fast into the quicksand of its own creation with the southern border crisis. The latest figures show that as of April 15, there were more than 20,000 unaccompanied minors being held in a combination of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Border Patrol facilities. And it seems that there is no plan in place to stop the flow of people.
It has been reported that in March, more than 170,000 people were apprehended at the border; this does not include those who evaded the patrols. Mexico has balked at taking back any more migrants under the Title 42 deal put in place by former President Donald Trump. And it seems that even on deciding how many refugees to admit this financial year, President Biden is unable to stand firm against progressives in his party committed to fully open borders.
Biden Blinks
In what is almost becoming a staple of the administration, the president announced something, the hard left reacted, and it was left to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki to try to spin the news into something that won’t upset the radicals. This time the issue was the number of refugees America would accept during the financial year.
On Friday, Biden released a memo outlining that 15,000 refugees would be admitted, detailing how many from which areas of the world. This 15,000 was the number previously set by President Trump. Needless to say, many members of Biden’s own party were not thrilled. Congressional Democrats called the figure “shameful” and questioned why Biden was not striving for “more” refugees. And just like that, the whiplash came.
Psaki was once again marched out to make the American people understand that what they had just heard was not what they had just heard. She said the administration’s target of 15,000 is only until the 15,000 is reached, and that Joe Biden will come up with a new figure by May 15. She continued:
“While finalizing that determination, the President was urged to take immediate action to reverse the Trump policy that banned refugees from many key regions, to enable flights from those regions to begin within days; today’s order did that… With that done, we expect the President to set a final, increased refugee cap for the remainder of this fiscal year by May 15.”
So, Biden didn’t say what Biden said, and shame on you for thinking he did.
Bending With the Wind
The administration appears to have lost all control at the southern border. It is bending to the whim and anger of open-borders advocates and radical leftists with little regard for the safety of those who make the journey to America, or those unaccompanied minors who are already in government care.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), a department of HHS, has already blown its $1.3 billion budget this year trying to stop cages for kids looking like cages for kids. Federal employees are being given up to four months of paid leave to “volunteer” on the border without considering what the impact will be for the roles they have left unattended.
This is a snowball at the very top of a mountain. Those who believe that the border crisis is almost over are seriously misguided. As that snowball gains speed, it will create an avalanche of epic proportions that may even convince the current administration that its policies so far have been ineffectual. Blaming the former president will only carry Biden so far; at some point, he will have to stand up to his allies as well as his opponents.
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Read more from Mark Angelides.
