In the first few months of Joe Biden’s presidency, a crisis has erupted at the border between the United States and Mexico.
Earlier this month, the New York Times reported that thousands of unaccompanied minors were being kept in “facilities akin to jails as the Biden administration struggles to find room for them in shelters.” The New York Times went on to report just this week that “children are being forced to sleep on gym mats with foil sheets and go for days without showering,” and that “many children” had “not been allowed outdoors for days on end.”
In response, “Mexico is reportedly preparing to ‘significantly reinforce’ its efforts to stop illegal immigrants that are entering its southern border with Guatemala as they travel on their way to the U.S.-Mexico border,” according to the Daily Wire.
However, the humanitarian crisis we are witnessing at the border — with new reporting indicating the situation is “rapidly spiraling out of control,” with “the number of unaccompanied children being held in detention facilities” being more than 300 percent higher than previously thought — did not occur in a vacuum.
Instead, it was largely the result of constant and intentional political rhetoric by Democrats both during and prior to Biden’s presidency, hinting or overtly calling for open borders and unfettered immigration.
Here are just a few examples of how Democrats have played a role in creating the crisis now unfolding at the border.
Every Democratic presidential candidate said illegal immigrants would get free healthcare
During the MSNBC Democratic presidential primary debate in June 2019, debate co-moderator Savannah Guthrie asked the ten candidates in attendance to raise their hand if their healthcare plan would “cover” illegal immigrants.
“This is a show of hands question and hold them up so people can see. Raise your hand if your government plan would provide coverage for undocumented immigrants,” Guthrie said.
Every one of the candidates — including now-President Joe Biden and now-Vice President Kamala Harris — raised their hands.
Moderator: Raise your hand if you will provide healthcare to undocumented immigrant.
Dems: 🙋🏼♀️🙋♂️🙋🏻♂️🙋♂️🙋♂️🙋🏾♀️🙋🏼♀️🙋♂️🙋♂️🙋♂️
Doctors: 🤦🏻♂️🤷♀️pic.twitter.com/I4SUrF1pRn
— The Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) June 28, 2019
Biden promised immigration reform
Throughout his campaign, Biden called for widespread immigration reform. In one such call, Biden said “We need to pass immigration reform that delivers a roadmap to citizenship, not just for DREAMers, but for the 11 million undocumented people living in at at the same time enriching communities all across this nation.”
Joe Biden: "We need to pass immigration reform that delivers a roadmap to citizenship, not just for DREAMers, but for the 11 million undocumented people living in at at the same time enriching communities all across this nation." pic.twitter.com/5OVvKXLDvE
— The Hill (@thehill) June 19, 2020
During a CBS News presidential debate in October 2020, Biden again promised to create a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
Joe Biden acknowledges the inability to overhaul immigration during the Obama administration.
"It took too long to get it right," Biden says.
He added if elected, within 100 days, he would create a pathway to citizenship for over 11 million undocumented people. pic.twitter.com/a3SYwiy7s2
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) October 23, 2020
Biden’s campaign promised to restore “morality”
On the Biden/Harris campaign website, under a post titled “The Biden Plan For Securing Our Values As A Nation Of Immigrants,” Biden argued that “It is a moral failing and a national shame when a father and his baby daughter drown seeking our shores. When children are locked away in overcrowded detention centers and the government seeks to keep them there indefinitely. When our government argues in court against giving those children toothbrushes and soap.”
“As president, Biden will forcefully pursue policies that safeguard our security, provide a fair and just system that helps to grow and enhance our economy, and secure our cherished values,” the post later added. The promised policies included “urgent action to undo Trump’s damage and reclaim America’s values,” that a Biden administration would “Welcome immigrants in our communities,” and that it would “Reassert America’s commitment to asylum-seekers and refugees.”
DHS Secretary Mayorkas hints at open borders
On multiple occasions, Biden’s Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, has hinted at weaker policies, which are in many ways tantamount to a call for open borders.
Despite the undeniable link between unaccompanied minors and human trafficking, Mayorkas told CBS This Morning that the United States “will not expel” children who are alone, and promised that the Biden administration was “expanding” their capabilities to handle migrants.
Biden's DHS Secretary Mayorkas tells migrant parents “we will not expel” your child if sent here alonehttps://t.co/7plkcJVXAo pic.twitter.com/JzqRBirUaY
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 18, 2021
On another occasion, Mayorkas indicated that people seeking to cross the border should “wait.”
“I have to take this opportunity, at the same time, to reiterate a message that we have communicated repeatedly throughout,” Mayorkas said. “Which is a message to those individuals who are thinking of coming to our border. They need to wait. It takes time to rebuild the system from scratch.”
IMMIGRATION: Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas had a message to people seeking to cross southern border into the US: "Wait." pic.twitter.com/RINLLHcyjm
— Forbes (@Forbes) March 2, 2021
Biden’s executive orders look to reverse Trump administration policies
In early February, Biden signaled that immigration policies would be loosened (if not removed entirely) when he signed multiple executive actions “ordering the review and potential reversal of the Trump administration’s deterrent policies along the Mexico border and the barriers they created to legal immigration, calling his predecessor’s actions ‘very counterproductive to our security.’”
Part of these actions involved Biden’s intention to remove the Migrant Protection Protocols — the “remain in Mexico” policy which required that those seeking asylum wait outside the United States while their claims are processed.
On his first day in office, Biden also ordered a halt to the continued construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall.
“It shall be the policy of my Administration that no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall,” Biden’s proclamation read.
Biden’s promised immigration bill will offer a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants
In Joe Biden’s immigration bill, “part of his commitment to modernize our immigration system,” the president called for the United States “to restore humanity and American values to our immigration system.”
“The bill creates an earned path to citizenship for our immigrant neighbors, colleagues, parishioners, community leaders, friends, and loved ones—including Dreamers and the essential workers who have risked their lives to serve and protect American communities,” the White House “fact sheet” reads.
Included in the U.S. Citizenship Act is a call to provide citizenship to illegal immigrants, “keep families together,” embrace diversity, and increase asylum seeker quotas.
Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at @ighaworth.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.