‘That’s not true’: MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan, GOP Rep. Dan Crenshaw spar over border claims
situation at the southern border of the U.S.
In the more than 16-minute exchange, which consisted of many instances of crosstalk and interruptions, Crenshaw argued that the surge of migrants trying to cross the border is a “crisis” created by President Joe Biden, who reversed some of the hardline immigration policies put in place by former President Donald Trump.
Hasan host displayed a chart showing that the numbers of migrants apprehended at the border has been increasing over the last nine months, in order to refute Republicans’ attempts to paint Biden as the cause of increases.
“Joe Biden did not inherit falling numbers,” the MSNBC host said.
Families separated by closed borders with Mexico, Canada put pressure on Biden
Hasan also played a clip of Crenshaw speaking on Fox News, where he blamed Biden for the surge of migrants. They argued over whether Crenshaw claimed that the Biden administration was not deporting people.
“If you come here, we’re going to give you a bus ticket, wherever you want, and we’re not going to deport you,” Crenshaw said on Fox, imitating Biden.
“How can you say the Biden administration isn’t deporting people?” Hasan asked on his show.
“I didn’t say that,” Crenshaw interjected.
‘Don’t come’ to the US amid surge at southern border
The U.S. is facing an increase of migrants trying to cross the southern border, and migrant children are being held in facilities because the administration says it is safer than trying to make their way back to their countries of origin.
The White House has so far resisted calling the situation at the border a “crisis” and says the border is closed, while Republicans blame it on the Biden administration’s reversal of Trump border policies, including the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which Crenshaw defended on Sunday.
A group of Republican lawmakers traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas earlier this month, where they decried what House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., described as, “more than a crisis, this is a human heartbreak.”
More:White House says migrant situation ‘not a crisis’ as Biden’s border czar Roberta Jacobson heads to Mexico
“Children, presenting at our border, who are fleeing violence, who are fleeing prosecution, who are fleeing terrible situations, is not a crisis,” Psaki said on Monday. “We feel that it is our responsibility to humanely approach this circumstance, and make sure they are treated and put in conditions that are safe.”
Psaki’s comments came the same day that Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, released photos of children in immigration facilities sleeping on mats under foil blankets, separated by plastic partitions, at a facility in the South Texas city of Donna. The lawmaker said he wanted to highlight the challenges facing border officials who have to watch so many children, and released the photos because the Biden administration has blocked media access to the facility.
