White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Thursday that there is a “large flow” of migrant children arriving in the United States, but denied that the southern border is open – after statistics showing the scale of the increase in migrants have been released.
Psaki spoke a day after Customs and Border Protection announced that the agency found 100,441 individuals in February, an increase of 28% over January, the agency said. Of these, 19,246 individuals belonged to family units; 9,457 were unaccompanied children (UACs) and 71,598 were single adults.
MCCARTHY SAYS BIDEN HAS NOT RESPONDED TO HIS REQUEST FOR A BORDER MEETING, HOW THE GOP LINKS A CRISIS TO ITS POLICIES
She pointed out that most of the people found were rejected through Title 42 health protections implemented during the last administration.
“We certainly also recognize why the president and our government made the decision that the way to approach immigration in a humane way is to allow unaccompanied children to come, be treated with humanity and be in a safe place while we are … trying to put them in homes and sponsor homes so that a few more can reach our border, “said Psaki.
She continued, “And there has, of course, been a large influx of children across the border, we recognize that – but we made a political decision because we felt it was a humane approach.”
The Biden administration has refused to call the dramatic increase in migrants – particularly migrant children, who cannot be expelled under Title 42 – a crisis.
THE BORDER MEETS THE 100,000 BEST IN FEBRUARY AS SPIRALS OF MIGRANT CRISIS
But it received strong criticism from Republicans, who accused the government of promoting “open border” policies and encouraging illegal immigration with a radical reversal of Trump-era policies and other policy liberalization measures.
“We have to recognize that words have consequences and actions have consequences,” said Representative Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., At a news conference earlier in the day. “When the Biden government refuses to enforce our immigration laws, when it refuses to build the wall, when it passes legislation like the bill we passed yesterday that includes money for illegal immigrants, that’s what happens.”
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION LEAVES CHILDREN’S MIGRANT CENTERS EXPAND TO 100% CAPACITY AMONG INCREASED NUMBERS
On Thursday, Psaki also responded to complaints from Texas Governor Greg Abbott that the border is now open because of the policies of the Biden government.
“This is absolutely incorrect, the border is not open, the vast majority of individuals detained or found on the border continue to be denied entry and are returned under Title 42,” she said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPLICATION
Republicans are traveling to the border on Monday. Last week, senior Biden government officials visited the border and informed the president this week, the White House said.