President Joe Biden is adamant that the current surge of immigrants coming to the southern border is entirely unrelated to his policies and is just an annual occurrence.
During his first press conference since taking office, PBS’ Yamiche Alcindor claimed that the surge in immigration is due to the “perception” that he is a “moral, decent man.”
“Well, look, I guess I should be flattered. People are coming because I’m the nice guy… That I’m a decent man or however it’s phrased that’s why they’re coming because Biden’s a good guy,” he responded.
Biden went on the say that there was a 31% increase in the number of immigrants traveling to the southern border in 2019 while former President Donald Trump was in office.
He continued, “It happens every single solitary year. There is a significant increase in the number of people coming to the border in the winter months of January, February, March… Does anybody suggest that there was a 31% increase under Trump because he was a nice guy and he was doing good things at the border? That’s not the reason they’re coming.”
Instead, Biden argued that the surge is due to the cooler weather, and it is “the time they can travel with the least likelihood of dying on the way because of the heat in the desert.”
Additionally, he said that circumstances in countries in South America and Central America are driving immigration.
Watch the video below:
Pres. Biden says he feels flattered that immigrants are coming to the border because he’s ‘a nice guy,’ but there are other reasons for the current influx pic.twitter.com/DYceYyyAwU
— NowThis Impact (@nowthisimpact) March 25, 2021
However, ABC News’ Cecilia Vega noted that she had just returned from a trip to the border where she encountered an unaccompanied migrant child who had his family’s contact information available.
“And we were able to call his family. His mother says that she sent her son to this country because she believes that you are not deporting unaccompanied minors like her son. That’s why she sent him alone from Honduras,” she said.
She asked, “So, sir, you blamed the last administration, but is your messaging in saying that these children are and will be allowed to stay in this country and work their way through this process encouraging families… to come?”
“Well, look,” Biden said as he paused for a few seconds. “The idea that I’m going to say, which I would never do, that when an unaccompanied child ends up at the border we’re just going to let them starve to death… No previous administration did that either — except Trump. I’m not going to do it.”
Pres. Biden to @CeciliaVega: "The idea that I'm going to say, which I would never do, that when an unaccompanied child ends up at the border we're just going to let them starve to death…No previous administration did that either—except Trump. I'm not going to do it." pic.twitter.com/aKIt77f7bP
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 25, 2021
He continued to say he wants his administration to work to address the reasons why immigrants are leaving their home countries.
Despite Biden’s assertion that his policies are not driving the surge in immigration, one illegal immigrant directly disputed his claim during an interview with ABC’s “This Week.”
When asked if he would have traveled to the country if Trump was president, he said, “Definitely not.”
“We had the chance, you know, the same violence that’s going on today was there last year. We used to watch the news. I definitely wouldn’t do this,” he added.
When asked if he made the trek to the border specifically because Biden was president, he said, “Basically. The main thing was the violence in my country. And the second thing I think was Joe Biden. You know, it’s like it lightened up my hope, you know what I mean?”