House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is blaming the Biden administration for the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“The security of our nation and our border is first and foremost the responsibility of our president. I came down here because I heard of the crisis. It’s more than a crisis. This is a human heartbreak,” McCarthy said during a visit to the border on Monday.
He added, “The sad part about all of this, it didn’t have to happen. This crisis is created by the presidential policies of this new administration. There’s no other way to claim it than a Biden border crisis.”
Watch his comments below:
“This is a human heartbreak … There’s no other way to claim it than a Biden border crisis.”
— The Recount (@therecount) March 15, 2021
— House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) at the southern border with Republican colleagues. pic.twitter.com/9yuijK3lM7
The Biden administration faces a growing challenge at the border as the number of unaccompanied minors heading for the United States has increased, as IJR reported.
As of Thursday morning more than 3,600 migrant children were being held at border facilities. This is more than four times the amount in February.
Former President Donald Trump blasted the administration for failing to handle the crisis, as IJR reported.
“When I was president, our southern border was in great shape — stronger, safer, and more secure than ever before. We ended Catch-and-Release, shut down asylum fraud, and crippled the vicious smugglers, drug dealers, and human traffickers,” Trump said in a statement last week.
He continued, “The wall, despite horrendous Democratic delays, would have easily been finished by now, and is working magnificently. Our country is being destroyed at the Southern border, a terrible thing to see!”
Other lawmakers argue Biden inherited the situation from Trump.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said during an appearance on “The View” Thursday, “Joe Biden inherited a huge mess on immigration, and it’s not going to be cleaned up in a month. He’s only been in office since January 20th.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called the border situation a “humanitarian challenge” during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday.
“What the administration has inherited is a broken system at the border, and they are working to correct that in the children’s interest,” she said.
The Biden administration deployed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help “receive, shelter and transport the children” over a 90 day period.