WATCH: Pelosi Says Trump Is Actually to Blame for Biden’s Border Crisis

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President Joe Biden’s pro-immigration rhetoric and policies have led to a record number of minors crossing the southern border and being detained in the U.S.

The moment: But according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the issue isn’t Biden’s campaign promises of “fair and humane” immigration reforms or his rollback of former President Donald Trump’s hardline policies.

During an appearance on ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday, Pelosi instead suggested the Trump administration is to blame for Biden’s “kids in cages.”

“This is a humanitarian challenge to all of us,” Pelosi said, acknowledging the extent of the emerging crisis before seeking to shift responsibility to Trump. “What the administration has inherited is a broken system at the border, and they are working to correct that in the children’s interest.”

  • Pelosi also declared herself “so pleased” that the Biden administration on Saturday called in the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help relocate migrant minors from overwhelmed detention facilities into Department of Health and Human Services custody.

In a pickle: Although Pelosi has Biden’s back, some of her members have demanded the president go further and faster to reverse Trump’s immigration legacy.

  • Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and 23 more progressives urged the Biden administration in a letter on Monday to bar Immigration and Customs Enforcement from detaining migrants in local jails, which account for half of immigration detention facilities.
  • Others, like Rep. Henry Cuellar, a moderate from Texas, have pushed Biden to warn migrants more forcefully to the U.S. or face consequences.

House Democrats have failed to unite behind Biden’s comprehensive immigration reform plan, and are instead expected to this week pass two narrower bills that would create a pathway to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants.

Meanwhile, Republican leaders, including Trump, have bashed Biden for what they say is an unnecessary immigration disaster of his making.

  • House Minority LeaderKevin McCarthy led a dozen House Republicans to El Paso, Texas, on Monday to highlight the situation at the border.
  • Asked by “Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace whether Biden is to blame, Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, said, “Empirically, it’s entirely.”
By We'll Do It Live