by White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre insisted the border was not “open” and that anyone who suggested otherwise was doing the work of human smugglers at another derided press conference Monday.
A major topic during the briefing was the impending expiration of Title 42, a public health rule in place since March 2020 that has been used to stem the growing border crisis by turning away immigrants. Although border cities have raised concerns that daily arrivals could double from the shock, the White House has been hesitant to explain how it plans to prepare for the shock of the expected 9,000 to 15,000 new arrivals per day.
Meanwhile, Jean-Pierre argued that these reports and the possible end of Title 42 do not suggest that the border is open and attacked anyone who claims they are “spreading misinformation.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Monday, December 19, 2022.
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
“I want to be very clear here. The fact is that the elimination of Title 42 does not mean that the border is open,” said Jean-Pierre. “Anyone who suggests otherwise is simply doing the job of these smugglers who, again, are spreading misinformation that is very dangerous.”
VIRGINIA GOVERNOR YOUNGKIN WARNS OF ‘CATASTROPHIC’ EFFECTS OF THE END OF TITLE 42
He also said: “It would be a mistake to think that the border is open. It is not open.”
These claims drew the ire of Twitter, as users claimed the press secretary was “misleading” the country by refusing to acknowledge historic border crossing numbers under the Biden administration.
“KJP continues an epic run as [White House press secretary]…” The Hill columnist Joe Concha tweeted.
“What a disaster,” agreed sportscaster Dan Dakich.
Republican communicator Matt Whitlock wrote: “Curious if she knows dozens of Democrats have been making that point.”
National Review contributor Pradheep J. Shanker tweeted: “This is gaslighting. The border is more open today [than] it has been for the past decade. You do not believe me? See Biden’s DHS stats confirming this.”
The US Customs and Border Protection reported more than 2.3 million border encounters in fiscal year 2022.
(FoxNews)
Radio host Buck Sexton wrote: “The only people who think the southern border is not ‘open’ are White House officials and regime media propagandists.”
“A blatant lie,” Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw proclaimed, sharing photos of hundreds of illegal immigrants crossing the border at night.
Substack writer John Hawkins added: “There is an easy solution to the huge number of illegals who are seeking asylum to play games with our broken immigration laws. Stop giving asylum to just anyone. It’s not like it’s doing any good. [sic] us in no way.”
BORDER IMAGES WILL BE ‘IMPOSSIBLE’ FOR BIDEN ADMINISTRATOR TO ‘IGNORE’ WHEN TITLE 42 ENDS: CNN REPORTER
After the press conference, the US Supreme Court temporarily stayed the expiration of Title 42 on December 21.
A migrant waits on the Mexican side of the border after U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents detained a couple of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on the beach in Tijuana, Mexico, on May 26. January 2022.
(AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Both Republican and Democratic politicians have called on President Biden to extend the policy, warning that the end of Title 42 will bring immigration disaster.
Fox News’ Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
