Former President Trump took an apparent swipe at President Biden amid White House calls for a border security deal that he “didn’t have a bill” when his administration had “the most secure border in history.”
Trump’s comments Wednesday came after Biden earlier this week claimed he had done everything he could do to secure the U.S. border.
BIDEN CLAIMS ‘I’VE DONE ALL I CAN DO’ TO SECURE THE BORDER
Biden told reporters as he was departing the White House Tuesday that “I’ve done all I can do. Just give me the power.”
“I asked them the very day I got into office,” Biden said. “Give me the Border Patrol. Give me the judges. Give me the people who can stop this.”
Trump, the 2024 GOP frontrunner, appeared to contradict Biden’s claim and urged Republicans to avoid entering the border deal, which is still being negotiated in the Senate.
President Joe Biden walks on the South Lawn to board Marine One before departing the White House on December 08, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“There’s never been a border like this ever in the world,” Trump said, adding that a “bad border deal would be worse than no deal at all.”
“You don’t need a deal to tighten up the border to make it secure,” he continued. “I had the most secure border in history. I didn’t have a deal. I didn’t have a bill.
“I said no people are coming in, no drugs are coming, and we don’t want to have human trafficking, which nobody even talks about. That is the No. 1.”
Trump added: “You have the right to close up your border… You don’t need bills.”
Trump went on to say the individuals illegally crossing are individuals U.S. officials know nothing about.
Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump points to supporters at the conclusion of a campaign rally at the Atkinson Country Club on January 16, 2024 in Atkinson, New Hampshire. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
“Right now, we have no idea who these people are that are pouring into our countries,” Trump said. “Last night I watched where they’re beating a police in New York City, a gang of people that just came in that didn’t speak English. Nobody knows who they are, where they come from. And very importantly, they come from, I can tell you they come from jails and prisons. They come from mental institutions and insane asylums.”
He added: “And they’re terrorists. They have a lot of terrorists coming too, and we don’t want them. I’m sorry, you know, we had a very strong border.”
MAYORKAS LASHES OUT AT ‘BASELESS’ GOP ALLEGATIONS AHEAD OF KEY IMPEACHMENT VOTE
President Biden has requested $14 billion in funding for the border as part of its supplemental funding request to Congress, which also includes aid to Ukraine and Israel. The request is being negotiated in Congress after Republicans demanded more limits on asylum and migrant releases into the interior.
Biden has urged Congress to pass the deal, but House Republicans and some conservatives in the Senate have said the reported proposals do not go far enough.
Immigrants wait to be processed by the U.S. Border Patrol after crossing the border from Mexico, with the U.S.-Mexico border barrier in the background, on August 6, 2022 in Yuma, Arizona. (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)
The Biden administration has said it has been expanding “lawful pathways” for migrants while increasing consequences for illegal entry into the U.S. since the ending of Title 42 expulsions in May last year. It has pointed to more than 500,000 removals since May, as well as increased cooperation with Mexico to crack down on human smugglers and fentanyl trafficking.
The administration also says it has been increasing removal flights — including directly to Venezuela. However, it has stressed that it needs more funding and comprehensive immigration reform to fix what it says is a “broken” system.
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Migrant numbers officially hit 302,000 in December, a new record, after 2.4 million encounters in FY23. Republicans have said that large releases into the interior and a rolling back of Trump-era policies have fueled the crisis and have accused Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of a “dereliction of duty” in his handling of it.
The House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday approved, along party lines, two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas — teeing up a floor vote as early as next week to impeach the embattled Biden official.
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