Does Anybody Here Think the Border Is Secure? Jean-Pierre: 'Historic Actions' (January 3, 2023)

On the first White House briefing of 2023, a reporter asked the simplest border question there is. “Does anybody around here think that the southern border is secure?” [1]

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre did not say yes. “What I can tell you is: This is a President who has been working since day one to work on border security, to make immigration a priority,” she said, before turning to “Republicans, as you know, who are doing political stunts” [1]. “That’s why he put forth a comprehensive immigration reform plan — legislation,” she said. “And the President is willing — is willing to work with Congress — Republicans, Democrats, independents — to work on these issues that matter to the American people” [1].

The reporter tried again. “But roughly 7,000 migrants crossing every day illegally. Does the White House believe the border is secure?” [1]

The video above shows the exchange from the Jan. 3, 2023, White House briefing. Quotes are from the official transcript published by the American Presidency Project [1].

”Are They Working?”

Jean-Pierre answered with effort, not results. “Look, I’ve told you what we have done, what we have made this a priority to make sure —” she said, as the reporter cut in: “The things that you have done, are they working?” [1]

”— to make sure that there’s border security measures. Look —” Jean-Pierre continued. “And is it working?” the reporter asked again [1].

“The President has taken historic actions — right? — that no other President has been able to do,” she said, citing “the 23,000 agents that he’s been able — we have been able to put out there to deal with the issue that we’re seeing at the border” [1].

”It Helps the Smugglers”

Then she warned the press about how it talked about the border. “And we have to be very careful here,” she said, “on how we talk about this. Because if we talk about it in a way that is misinformation, then it helps the smugglers” [1].

She never said whether the border was secure [1].

”Should Not Be Extended Indefinitely”

The briefing came days after the Supreme Court kept the Title 42 pandemic border policy in place. “So, look, the Supreme Court’s order keeps the current Title 42 policy in place while the Court reviews the matter in 2023,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

She made clear the White House wanted it gone. “Title 42, as you all know — you’ve heard us say this many times before — it’s a public health measure, not an immigration enforcement measure, and it should not be extended indefinitely. That is our view,” she said [1].

She put the burden on Congress. “To truly fix our broken immigration system, though, we need Congress to act,” Jean-Pierre said. “The Supreme Court’s order gives Republicans in Congress plenty of time, we believe, to move past political finger-porti- — pointing and — and join our Democratic colleagues to fix and to work to fix this problem” [1].

Asked whether the administration had the power to end it, “Yes or no?”, she would only say: “we’re going to comply with what the Supreme Court justices ruled in its current — in its current form with Title 42” [1].

The same reporter also asked whether Biden had lied about his family’s business dealings. For that exchange, see HYGO News’ page on Jean-Pierre’s answer.

By the Numbers

• 7,000: illegal crossings a day, as the reporter put it [1].
• 23,000: agents Jean-Pierre credited to Biden [1].
• 250,000: illegal crossings in December 2022, a record, per Sen. James Lankford [2].
• 0: times Jean-Pierre said the border was secure in that exchange [1].

What Happened Next

December set a record. Three weeks later, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told the Senate: “This year, there was a record number of people illegally crossing in December. So instead of going down, it actually went up when a quarter million people illegally crossed our southwest border in 1 month.” In Yuma, Arizona, he said, “This past year, Yuma, AZ, had 310,000 people illegally cross the area” [2].

Two days later, Biden changed his tune. On Jan. 5, 2023, he announced that “Mexico has agreed to allow up—to return up to 30,000 persons per month” from four countries. “My message is this: If you’re trying to leave Cuba, Nicaragua, or Haiti, you have—and we—or have agreed to begin a journey to America, do not—do not just show up at the border,” Biden said [5].

Asked why he was finally visiting the border, he said: “Because the Republicans haven’t been serious about this at all.” On the pandemic rule, he said: “I don’t like title 42. But it’s the law now, and I have to operate within it” [5].

Biden later restricted asylum himself. “On June 3, 2024, the President signed a Proclamation under sections 212(f) and 215(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act,” the Federal Register later recounted, “suspending and limiting the entry of certain noncitizens into the United States during emergency border circumstances” [3].

Trump declared an emergency. On Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump proclaimed “that a national emergency exists at the southern border of the United States.” “America’s sovereignty is under attack,” the proclamation said [4].

For Lankford’s full floor speech, see HYGO News’ page on work permits for illegal crossers, and for the end of Title 42, the page on Mayorkas.

For more of Jean-Pierre’s answers checked against the record, see the Karine Jean-Pierre record page.

Sources

1. The American Presidency Project: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre (January 3, 2023)
2. GovInfo: Congressional Record, Senate, Border Security (January 25, 2023)
3. Federal Register: Securing the Border (October 7, 2024)
4. The White House: Declaring a National Emergency at the Southern Border of the United States (January 20, 2025)
5. The American Presidency Project: Remarks on Border Security and Enforcement and an Exchange With Reporters (January 5, 2023)