CNN’s Kate Bolduan Presses House Democrat on Border Sheriff’s Unanswered Pleas: He’s Asking for Biden’s Help and ‘Not Getting It’
CNN’s Kate Bolduan pressed Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) on why Joe Biden’s administration has not gotten a “better handle” on the border crisis following the deaths of dozens of migrants found in a tractor-trailer on Monday.
The border crisis, Bolduan said Tuesday, is “not getting better,” citing a major uptick in search and rescues by Border Patrol in recent months. Garcia responded by pushing blame on former President Donald Trump and claiming that the situation is “cyclical.”
Well, I think they had a plan for some time and they’ve put it into place and I think we’re seeing some change. Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas briefed us on a five-point plan that included everything from trying to put more people down there in terms of staffing, providing that quicker processing of the asylum request. So just remember that for the last two or three years, all this has been on a standstill with all the programs that have been implemented by the previous administration, forcing people to remain in Mexico, forcing people, turning people away. So there’s been a lot of built-up bottleneck, if you will, that now, I think, we’re seeing people, more and more people coming through and it’s cyclical.
Bolduan pressed further on the issue, bringing up a letter written by Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar to Biden, partially blaming the president for a lack of action on the border following the mass migrant deaths.
“Dear President Biden, I am reaching out to you for a third time and requesting assistance,” Salazar wrote this week. The sheriff goes on to say he’s “disappointed” in the administration, as well as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for turning the border issue into a “campaign stunt.”
“He is asking for help from this White House and he is not getting it,” Bolduan said after reading a portion of the plea for assistance.
The Texas Democrat responded by claiming she shares the sheriff’s frustration, but she also admits to she hasn’t even seen the letter from the sheriff.
I don’t know, I’m not seeing the letter. I don’t know when he wrote the letter, but I can tell him that I’m angry too. I’m angry that very indecent, evil human beings were put people, and treat them like cattle in a trailer.
But then I’m wanting to make sure people understand this is a huge challenge for us, not just us, but all of these triangle countries. I mean, what is going on in their countries? What can we do to get to the root causes of migration, to assist? Because they’re obviously leaving horrific situations of war and poverty and human trafficking and crime and violence, seeking asylum, which they have a right to do. That is the law. The law says you have a right to seek asylum. They come here, they get nothing but barriers. Again, Title 42, remain in Mexico, so they find other ways to come across. So that is where the challenge is.
Watch above via CNN.
