Biden’s former press secretary Jen Psaki reveals huge ‘political vulnerability’ for the president: ‘They knew they would have to do something’

Joe Biden has only been forced to take action against migrant border crossings because it now threatens to cost him the November election, his former press secretary has admitted.

On Tuesday, the president announced the first executive action aimed at curbing the numbers since taking office, after a Gallup poll showed immigration tops voters’ concerns for the third month in a row.

Donald Trump had a 17-point lead over his rival on the issue in a separate poll last month after promising mass deportations of those crossing the border illegally if he returns to power next year.

“Politically, this is one of the biggest vulnerabilities,” Jen Psaki told MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Wednesday.

“They knew they would also have to do something like an executive order politically before the election. And that’s what we see happening.’

Biden’s move falls short of an executive order but promises to temporarily suspend entry of noncitizens across the southern border once the average number of detected border crossings exceeds 2,500 per day over a seven-day period.

That suspension will only be lifted if the number falls below the average of 1,500 per day for 21 days.

The move has angered progressive Democrats, with Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash) calling it a “mistake” and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn) calling it a “betrayal.”

But Psaki, now an MSNBC host himself, said this was inevitable after efforts to get a border control bill through Congress failed under opposition from Trump.

“It was a deal that was so conservative, and the Democrats gave so much, that the Republicans said, ‘Wow, I can’t believe we got all this stuff.’

“They knew as soon as that deal fell apart that Donald Trump called Mike Johnson and said ‘kill the deal,’ and Mike Johnson said, ‘Yes sir, I’ll kill the deal.’

“They knew at that moment they had to do something.”

Last year, 2.5 million illegal crossings of the southern border were detected, with a record high of 302,000 in December.

The numbers have since fallen, but the number of border crossings routinely exceeds the level needed to trigger the crackdown. Border authorities registered 3,500 people on Monday.

Biden took 94 executive actions to undo his predecessor’s border policies after taking office, but he has repeatedly warned that any use of his authority to reduce the number of border crossings could be overturned by the courts.

The anger on the left has been exacerbated by his decision to use for his executive action the same Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act that Donald Trump used to block refugees from Muslim-majority countries.

The American Civil Liberties Union had already vowed a legal challenge, claiming the move would illegally deprive migrants of the right to seek asylum.

“All of these efforts by the previous administration were declared illegal by federal courts,” a spokesperson for Human Rights First said.

A Pew Research survey in February found a sharp divide between Republican and Democratic supporters on whether the border crossing issue can be called a “crisis,” with 70 percent of Republican voters agreeing, compared with just 22 percent of Democrats.

But a Reuters/Ipsos poll last month found that 56 percent of all voters want the government to round up and deport most or all migrants in the U.S. illegally.

It found that 70 percent of Republicans described the problems at the southern border as a “crisis,” compared to just 22 percent of Democrats.

“Regardless of who is upset about the details of what is and is not in this, it is a political vulnerability for the president and his campaign,” Psaki said.