White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has been accused of telling a “blatant lie” after claiming illegal immigration had dropped by 90%.
At a press conference on Monday, Jean-Pierre was questioned about how President Biden plans to deal with illegal immigration.
The press secretary insisted that the government had already made efforts to address ongoing problems at the border.
Footage and new statistics shared by Border Police Chief Raul Ortiz in recent days show they have made 73,000 arrests and another 17,000 escaped.
She said: “On his first day in this administration, the president came out with comprehensive immigration legislation and that is to show how seriously he took this.
Jean-Pierre made the statements during a press conference on Monday
According to the US Border Patrol, they have managed to arrest 73,780 immigrants in the past ten days and seize a litany of drugs, money and firearms.
“The system was broken, it needs to be modernized, moved to the 21st century and so this is something the president has been talking about.
“In the meantime, he has tools that he’s been using to make sure that we do this, that we actually deal with the immigration system in a humane way, in a way that actually deals with what we see at the border.
“When it comes to illegal migration, you’ve seen it drop by more than 90% and that’s because of the measures this president has taken.”
Statistics published by the US Customs and Border Protection show that there were 257,910 nationwide encounters across all borders in March of this year.
The March numbers brought the total number of encounters in the US this year to 1,544,087.
Current trends mean that the total number of crossings could break last year’s record of 2.76 million.
On social media, Jean-Pierre was criticized for her comments that GOP Chairman Ronna McDaniel called a “blatant lie.”
Pictured: The latest figures from US Customs and Border Protection show that more than 250,000 people crossed the border in March
She tweeted, “This is a blatant lie by the Biden administration. This is the worst border crisis on record.
“They caused the crisis and now they deny it exists.”
Senior adviser to former President Trump Stephen Miller tweeted, “We are suffering the largest wave of illegal immigration in human history and it’s not even close.”
Washington Free Beacon reporter Chuck Ross said, “Possibly the biggest lie from the White House podium so far this year.”
Jean-Pierre’s comments came under fire from journalists and politicians
Meanwhile, US Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz shared an update on Monday about their work over the weekend and what they had stopped crossing the border.
He tweeted, “Last 72 hours. 2 cops assaulted, 22,220 arrests, 806 pounds of methamphetamine, 283 pounds of marijuana, 62 pounds of cocaine, 3 firearms, 5 maritime events, 2 sex offenders, 2 tractor trailer events, 1 convicted murderer, 1 gang member.”
Footage shared by the Chief shows a number of firearms, piles of cash and bagged collections of drugs
The border patrols are constantly taking pictures of narcotics they managed to stop by crossing the border and into the streets
A range of weapons were also seized from illegal migrants streaming into the US, including this one with loaded ammunition
Bundles of money, bullets and ammunition can be seen in this photo
Sex offenders entering the US have also been arrested, including these two that were shared by Border Patrol
His most recent update means that in the past ten days alone, the US Border Patrol has arrested 73,780 illegal immigrants, of which just under 17,000 managed to escape into the country.
Patrols across the country also intercepted 1,052 pounds of meth, 820 pounds of marijuana, 676 pounds of cocaine, 13 firearms, 19 sex offenders, 6 gang members, 1 convicted murderer, and 19 pounds of heroin and 54 pounds of fentanyl during the same time.
It comes after the Biden administration said they would set up migrant processing centers in Central and South America in a bid to expedite deportations and further deter illegal immigration to the US.
The first centers will be located in Colombia and Guatemala, two countries that have developed major bottlenecks for those trying to transit to migrate to the US
Chief Raul Ortiz shared an update on his Twitter page on the latest numbers of items seized and migrants arrested
President Biden has also authorized Army reserves to move to the southern border as Pandemic-era Title 42 expires in two weeks.
Title 42 allowed for the expedited expulsion of migrants from the US during the public health emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As of March 2020, officials have been able to use this policy in more than 2.7 million cases when processing asylum applications from migrants.
But now that there is no longer a health emergency in the US, the policy expires on May 11.
Republicans and border policy hawks have been highly critical of the end of the program, claiming there is no alternative to ensuring the southern border is not crossed and even more overwhelmed once Title 42 expires.
Migrants marched along the side of a highway in Alvaro Obregón, Chiapas, last month
Migrants continue to wait at the US border with Mexico in January this year
Internal projections show that migration at the southern border could increase by as much as 10,000 to 13,000 a day when the policy expires next month.
Another method of deterring unlawful crossings after the end of Title 42 is that the Biden administration is working to finalize a rule to disqualify migrants from asylum if they did not seek humanitarian protection in a country they had to cross to reach the reach the US and then entered the country illegally.
Currently, migrants who illegally cross the southern border to apply for asylum are often released into the country pending a decision on their asylum application.
This has led to millions without legal status disappearing into the country upon release from customs and border guard custody.
The government also announced it would expand a program that would allow migrants to come to the US if they have family members who are citizens or permanent residents.
While the current policy only applies to Haitian and Cuban migrants, the expanded version would also allow citizens of Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras to participate in the family reunification program.
The Texas National Guard stands guard as migrants continue to wait at the US-Mexico border in January this year
Last month, 3,000 immigrants began moving through Mexico as a large group to head for the southern border of the US.
The caravan of asylum seekers had threatened to block roads or injure themselves unless the Mexican government agreed to meetings or provided buses that would transport them to the capital.
They hoped to reach Mexico City, where they planned to pressure officials to issue them exit visas that would allow them to proceed to the United States.
In February of this year, Border Patrol agents testified before a government commission that the amount of fentanyl seized at the southern border was enough to kill nearly five times the US population.