Karine Jean-Pierre blames Republicans when asked why Biden has waited three years to consider executive action to secure the border (after his executive actions decimated border security)
On 2/23/2024, during White House press briefing, a reporter asked: on the executive actions, possibly, on the border. The bills are stalled. So, why wait three years, now, in to take alternatives or take possible executive actions on the border?
KJP: What are you talking about?
Reporter: Well, you mentioned the — the bill, the when — the first week in office, the President issued his bill that — for immigration reform and then the negotiated Senate bill. Those are both stalled. The House is not taking them up.
KJP: I think you’re seeing it very differently than we are. We’re saying that the President took it very seriously. He took it very seriously by taking action on day one, putting forward a comprehensive immigration policy legislation that he wanted Congress to act on. They did not act on it … House Republicans have continued to get in the way … this is — this is something for Republicans in the House to speak to. We’ve worked with the Senate in a bipartisan way to get this done … House Republicans have allowed politics to get in the way. And Speaker Johnson left early after — if you think about the national security supplemental that had to — we had to take out — they had to take out the border security from it because that’s what the Speaker wanted. That was done out of the Senate. It was passed. And then, the Speaker went home early and is gone. He went on — they — he went on vacation early.
And so, this is — this is truly a question for the Speaker.
Reporter: Well — but my question is — is: Now we’re hearing about executive actions that could be taken. Why wait this long —
KJP: I have been very —
Reporter: — to look at executive actions?
KJP: I’ve been very clear: We have made no decisions on that. I’m not going to get into policy …
Reporter: And then one more, if I may. In fiscal year 2023, at the border, there were 24,000 Chinese nationals that had illegally crossed and 288 were deported. And the National Border Patrol Council President says that the vast majority of them coming across now are military-aged men. What’s the level of concern for the White House about these military-aged men?
KJP: So, this is a — this is — continues to be a concern for this for — for this administration … And again, I go back to that bipartisan agreement that came out of the Senate. And that would have been a — a step forward here. It would have been a piece of legislation that — that, as I’ve said, would have been tough, it would have been fair, and it was endorsed by the Border Patrol union, and Republicans in — in the House rejected it.
https://www.facebook.com/HygoNewsUSA/videos/1359482521430808
Q: why waited 3 years to consider executive action? concern for military-aged men? A: blames Republicans