On Wednesday’s broadcast of NewsNation’s “Morning in America,” White House National Security Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby stated that American cities aren’t feeling the impact of the border policies the White House says it’s working on because there are “a lot of policies here by some governors around that southern border, sending these people north in quite an inhumane fashion.”
Kirby said, “Well, there’s not a day that goes by that we aren’t focused on the challenge of immigration here today, from all levels. We’re opening up more legal pathways. That’s been a core focus of President Biden’s approach, a safe, humane, orderly process for legal immigration. But we are cracking down on enforcement mechanisms, working with partners in the region to turn those away who would try to approach illegally, and just as critically, we’re trying to deal with the root causes of all this migration. There are more people on the move, right now, across the world, migration-wise, than there [have] been since World War II. And that is particularly acute here in the Western Hemisphere. We’re not the only country that’s facing these pressures. Every country in the hemisphere is facing these pressures, and we’ve got to get at the root causes that are making these people go on the move. And the weather’s getting better now, as Fall approaches, so it’s a little bit more tenable for people to try to make this dangerous journey. But again, we’ve got a holistic approach here. What we need is Congress to support our efforts and to help us get at the root causes and that get at better border security there on the southern border. In the supplemental request that the president asked for and did not — we did not get funding for, there was $4 billion for border enhancements.”
Co-host Markie Martin then asked, “And just a quick follow-up, with all these things that you’re saying the White House is working on. Why aren’t American cities feeling it then?”
Kirby responded, “Well, again, there [are] a lot of policies here by some governors around that southern border, sending these people north in quite an inhumane fashion. We’re not blind to what’s going on. We have provided extra funding and extra support to some of these cities, particularly in New York City, in the twos of millions of dollars to try to help them deal with this. We recognize what’s going on, and we’re working with cities as best we can.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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