Biden was recently heavily criticized by both sides of the aisle for his decision to not visit the reality of the US-Mexico border crisis during his four-hour visit to El Paso. CNN’s Rosa Flores was among those to call out Biden for his failure to view the situation first-hand, noting he had missed an opportunity to gain a clear understanding.
It was kinda shocking to see CNN talk badly about their overlord, but Flores was visibly angry.
The White House released a statement indicating that Biden had gone to the most heavily used point of entry and a facility financed by the federal government to meet with nearby authorities in regards to the migrant crisis. However, Flores disputed the White House’s assertions. She pointed out that at the time of the President’s visit, there were nearly 1,000 migrants who were in federal detention and it was highly unlikely the President would have been denied access if he had wanted to see the situation first-hand.
“That’s why the president is being criticized by both sides because of what he didn’t see,” Flores reported. “So let me show you. This is one of the migrant camps here in downtown El Paso. And you know, the immigration advocates here in El Paso and Governor Greg Abbott usually don’t agree on much but they do raise the same question. If President Biden came here to El Paso to see the reality on the ground about the border and didn’t come here, what’s considered the epicenter of this crisis, did he leave with a clear understanding?”
The White House released a statement indicating that Biden had gone to the most heavily used point of entry and a facility financed by the federal government to meet with nearby authorities in regards to the migrant crisis. Nevertheless, Flores disputed the White House‘s assertions.
Flores called Biden out on that one too.
“My colleague, MJ Lee, asked the White House about the president not interacting or meeting with any migrants and a senior administration official told her that it is because there were no migrants at the respite center at the time that the president visited, and that it was coincidental,” Flores said. “But Poppy, I checked the migrant dashboard that the city of El Paso has. And at the time when the president was here, there were nearly 1,000 migrants who were in federal detention so if the president really wanted to see conditions, I kind of doubt that the President of the United States would have been denied access.”
Flores then pointed to the street right behind her, noting the hundreds of migrants sheltering on the sidewalks.
“This is a city in America, in the United States, and the top executive of this country came here, he did not come to see this,” she said.
It’s understandable that President Biden is looking to build off of the successes of his predecessor, which included a decrease in illegal crossings. However, the border crisis is a complex and pressing issue that requires an on-the-ground view in order to make meaningful progress. It’s simply not enough to depend on the words of others to gain a full understanding of the situation.
The people living in the US-Mexico border region are in dire need of assistance and support. President Biden must take the time to go and view the reality of the situation for himself in order to be able to make informed decisions about how to best handle this crisis. Without this, the President is at a real disadvantage in terms of making meaningful progress on this issue.