The Biden administration claimed it is “committed to transparency” down at the southern border but refuses to let more than a few select journalists near the detention facilities for unaccompanied migrant children.
The border crisis continues to worsen as hundreds of immigrants flood the border in anticipation of the president’s lax immigration policies.
Joe Biden even had to lift the cap on long-term detention centers because of how many unaccompanied minors were crossing the border.
But Biden’s White House continues to downplay the situation and refuses to admit that it is a crisis.
And unlike the Trump administration, Biden’s agencies have rebuffed media requests to visit the detention centers.
When asked why journalists were not allowed to visit the facilities, White House press secretary Jen Psaki claimed the administration remains “committed to doing that” but used the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse.
“We want to work with them to ensure we can do it respecting the privacy and obviously the health protocols required by COVID, and obviously privacy concerns,” she said.
Psaki also blamed the Trump administration, which successfully controlled the influx of illegal immigration after a couple of years.
“The situation on the ground is certainly challenging, in part, because we inherited a dismantled system that wasn’t prepared for processing asylum requests,” Psaki said.
“We fully support transparency, and I would encourage you to talk to the president of Homeland Security about any requests you have for press access or what you’re looking to accomplish at the border,” she added.
Psaki couldn’t give a timeline for access either, but reiterated “it’s certainly something we support.”
However, several journalists have reported that they are also unable to access top Customs and Border Protection agency spokespeople and officials, according to the Washington Examiner.
Biden’s policies mirrors that of the Obama administration, which made clear that it would not enforce federal deportation laws for those under a certain age.
As a result, parents are entrusting their children to coyotes and other human traffickers to smuggle them across the border.
