Biden: 'Not rational' to deport migrants to Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua
President Biden was asked Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, about why migrants have surged across the U.S.-Mexico border during his administration.
President Biden said Tuesday that it is "not rational" to send migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border back to nations like Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua as concerns grow over the number of migrants arriving at the southern border.
A reporter asked Biden why the border is "more overwhelmed on your watch."
"Because there are three countries," Biden began. "There are fewer and fewer immigrants coming from Central America than from Mexico. It’s a totally different circumstance."
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President Biden answers a reporter's question in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Sept. 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
"What's on my watch now is Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, and the ability to send them back to those states is not rational," he continued.
"We're working with Mexico and other countries to see if we can stop the flow," he added.
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Biden has faced mounting questions over the number of illegal crossings and the spike in apprehensions at the border as conservative leaders have begun transporting migrants to various locations across the U.S., including Martha’s Vineyard and even in front of Vice President Kamala Harris’ home in Washington, D.C.
President Biden responds to a reporter at the White House on Sept. 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Nearly 2.15 million immigrants have been apprehended at the border this year, a significant spike from data collected over the last four years, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
People wait outside the Migrant Resource Center to receive food from Catholic Charities of San Antonio on Sept. 19, 2022, in San Antonio. (Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images)
Though most border apprehensions are individuals making the journey on their own, the number of family units and unaccompanied minors have also increased.
A record number of Colombians, Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and other nationalities have been processed at the U.S. border over the past year and half for a variety of reasons relating to socio-economic and humanitarian crises abroad.
Democrats have accused Republicans like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who deposited 50 migrants in Martha’s Vineyard, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has been bussing migrants to New York and Washington, D.C., for months, of "political theater."
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Republicans have accused Democratic leaders such as Harris, who was charged as border czar last year, of ignoring what they have deemed is a border crisis.
One reporter asked Biden what he thought of migrants being bussed to his home state of Delaware, to which he said, "He [DeSantis] should come visit. We have a beautiful shoreline."
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