Footage has resurfaced of Joe Biden pledging as a 2020 presidential candidate that if elected he would ensure an “immediate surge” of migrants at the southern border — a promise on which he has delivered.
Then: During the third Democratic presidential debate, in September 2019, moderator Jorge Ramos of Univision questioned Biden’s past support for immigration enforcement, asking, “Why should Latinos trust you?”
Biden — whose Democratic opponents were nearly advocating open borders — defended the immigration policies of the Obama administration, in which he served as vice president, as progressive for their time.
- He went on to promise that as president he would “do several more things, because things have changed.”
- “I would in fact make sure that there is, that we immediately surge to the border — all those people who are seeking asylum. They deserve to be heard,” Biden said. “That’s who we are. We’re a nation that says, ‘If you want to flee and you’re fleeing oppression, you should come.'”
Now: Amid a rapidly escalating border crisis, now-President Biden on Tuesday told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that his message to migrants is “Don’t come over.”
- “We’re in the process of getting set up,” Biden added. “Don’t leave your town, or city or community.”
The Biden administration has repeatedly asked migrants to stop traveling to the U.S. — but has also suggested the request is only temporary and somehow the fault of former President Donald Trump.
Republicans have said the unprecedented surge of border crossings, mostly by unaccompanied minors, and overwhelmed detention facilities are a direct result of Biden’s pro-immigration rhetoric and his rollback of Trump’s hardline policies.
- Trump complained to Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on Tuesday that Biden has “eroded” his accomplishments on border security, saying, “They are going to destroy our country if we don’t do something about it.”
