White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is accusing Republicans of trying to turn the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border into a "political stunt" as she insists President Biden is "doing everything that he can" to deal with the influx of migrants.
Jean-Pierre made the remark Monday when asked by Fox News correspondent Hillary Vaughn if Biden sees a "border that is effectively closed."
"What I'm saying is that the president, without the help, without the help of Republicans, is doing everything that he can to deal with the border," she responded.
"While Republicans try to push forth a CR to limit – to take away – the federal agents that we see at the border... they're trying to politicize it and make it worse," Jean-Pierre continued, referencing recent efforts to avert a government shutdown. "That's what Republicans are trying to do and turn it into a political stunt. The president is actually dealing with the issue that's in front of him by getting record funding, 25,000 federal agents at the border. That is something that this president has been able to do."
Jean-Pierre also said there are "three things" Biden has done to "move forward" when it comes to his plan to tackle the border crisis.
"There's enforcement. And so we've deployed additional troops and federal agents to the border and removed or returned more than 250,000 individuals since May 12 alone," she said.
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"And deterrence, we've had the largest expansion of pathways in decades," Jean-Pierre continued. "And we've made clear that attempting to cross the border unlawfully will result in prompt removal, a five-year ban on re-entry and potential criminal prosecution.
"And let's not forget the diplomacy that we have done with the region, including Mexico, to deal with this issue, because… this is a regional issue that we're seeing as it relates to unlawful migration," she also said.
