CNN Details the ‘Twists and Turns’ of Biden’s Position on Immigration, Digging Up Old Footage and Past Statements
CNN investigative reporter Andy Kaczynski, who runs the KFile, spoke with anchor Dana Bash on Thursday and detailed President Joe Biden’s “shifting” rhetoric and positions on immigration.
“Biden’s own administration points to these numbers. More than 3 million migrants who entered since Biden took office, who are still in the country. And as you know, mass migration at the border is significantly overwhelming US immigration resources,” Kaczynski began, adding:
The president is now grappling with the reality of one of the worst immigration crisis in decades as he campaigns for reelection. We’ve all seen how Biden is reacting to this. He is toughening up his language and his policies. Recently, the White House shifted its rhetoric on sanctuary cities. They’re now urging those cities to comply with law enforcement agencies regarding migrants who committed a crime. And he traveled to the border last week, where he called that bipartisan Senate bill, which was killed by Republicans, the toughest that the country has ever seen. Take a listen to this.
In the clip, Biden says, “They desperately need more resources. Say it again. They desperately need more resources. They need more agents, more officers, more judges, more equipment in order to secure our border. Folks, it’s time for us to move on this. We can’t wait any longer.”
Bash then noted, “The interesting thing, Andrew, is that this shift in language is going back to a position that he held when he was senator and he was vice president.”
Kaczynski replied, “Well, that’s right. Before he got significantly more progressive in that campaign for president, he held much tougher views are so much stronger as a senator where he supported building barriers at the border, not allowing sanctuary cities to violate federal immigration law. And he even wanted to crack down on employers who hired undocumented immigrants.
Now, you do have to go all the way back to 2006 and 2007. But listen to what Biden said at two separate campaign events those years.”
In a clip, Biden can be heard saying, “Oh, I voted for a fence. I voted in my home, like most Democrats, something, well, like I did for 700 miles of fence. But let me tell you, we can build a fence 40 stories high. But let we change the dynamic in Mexico, and you will not like this, and punish American employers who knowingly violate the law when in fact they hire illegals. Unless you do those two things, all the rest is window dressing.”
“No great country can say it is secure without being able to control its borders. I would radically ramp up the number of border security guards we have,” Biden says in a separate clip.
Kaczynski adds, “So in a statement to CNN, the White House told us that on the first day of the administration, President Biden has called on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform. We need to make significant policy reforms and to provide additional funding to secure our border and fix our broken immigration system. So that was Biden then, Dana, this is him now. And it’s going to be interesting to see how all of this plays out in this presidential campaign.”
Bash concluded the segment, noting, “And it’s remarkable to see the kind of twists and turns of the Biden position that really go hand in hand with the twists and turns of what’s happening on the border, and with the politics of immigration over the last decade and a half. Thank you so much, Andrew. Appreciate it.”
Watch the clip above via CNN.
