Senator Bob Menendez took aim at President Biden over reports that the administration was considering a resurgence of family detention for illegal migrants at the border.
“If the government goes down this path, I’m afraid the president will become commander-in-chief of the shelter,” Menendez, D-NJ, said during an appearance Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
The New Jersey senator’s comments come after reports surfaced that the Biden administration was considering whether border authorities could detain migrant families illegally crossing the southern border, sparking a controversial policy under the administrations of former Presidents Obama and Trump. life was breathed in.
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Senator Bob Menendez, left, and President Biden. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images // Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
According to a Reuters report last week, the government is considering several options to reduce the number of immigrants trying to enter the US illegally. deported.
“It’s all on the table,” a US official told Reuters.
When Fox News Digital Sunday was available for comment, a White House spokesperson last week pointed to comments made by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre when she said the president would “use the tools he has for himself.” has to make sure we deal with an immigration system or we build an immigration system that is, again, safe, orderly and humane.
“We’ve been very clear about how we look — how the president wants to move forward,” said Jean-Pierre. “And he has been clear from the beginning, from the beginning of his administration: by implementing comprehensive immigration reform. And his approach has ensured that we expand legal avenues for asylum seekers, limit illegal immigration, address the root causes, and also increasing border security.”
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However, Menendez argued that a resurgence of family detention would be a step in the wrong direction.
Migrants from Central America wait for food in El Paso, Texas. (AP Photo/Cedar Attanasio)
ADMIN VAN BIDEN WEIGHES REVISION OF POLICY TO DETAINE MIGRANT FAMILIES DURING SOUTHERN BORDER CRISIS: REPORTS
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“The best part of the government’s immigration policies for the first two years is that they ended family detention, which proved to be a failure under both the Obama and Trump administrations as a way of deterring individuals from coming Menendez said.
Instead, Menendez called for a “comprehensive plan to deal with the border” that would allow agents to process “legitimate” asylum applications more efficiently, noting that many of those arriving at the US border are fleeing dictatorial countries.
Border Patrol agent on station in McAllen, Texas. (Veronica G. Cardenas//File Photo)
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“The three biggest countries… coming to the border now are Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, they are dictatorships, people fleeing those dictatorships,” Menendez said.
“When the government opened a legal pathway for those fleeing, they saw the reduction dramatically,” he said. “It’s just one example of what you can do in a way that is both good for the border and preserves our nation and a nation that maintains asylum.”
Michael Lee is a writer at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter @UAMichaelLee
