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- President Joe Biden said there’s nothing unique about the recent border surge to his administration.
- “I like to think it’s because i’m a nice guy, but it’s not, it’s happened every year,” he said.
- Biden cited weather conditions and extreme circumstances in migrants’ home countries.
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President Joe Biden explained his stance on the recent surge of unaccompanied migrants along the US-Mexico border during his first solo press conference since taking office on Thursday.
Biden said the influx is not simply the result of him being perceived as more welcoming to immigrants than his predecessor.
“I like to think it’s because i’m a nice guy, but it’s not, it’s happened every year,” Biden said. “The reason they’re coming is it’s the time they can travel with the least likelihood of dying because of the heat in the desert.”
The president took exception to the notion that the issue was just about him compared to former president Donald Trump.
“Does anyone suggest there was a 31% increase under Trump because he was a nice guy?” Biden said. “I like to think it’s because i’m a nice guy, but it’s not, it’s happened every year.”
Biden paused at one point to ask reporters if he was going into too much detail on the subject.
After being asked about the predicament of one child from Honduras whose parents told a reporter that they sent their child because they thought Biden wouldn’t deport minors, the president reflected on the decision to send a kid on such a journey in the first place.
“What a desperate act to have to take,” Biden said. “The circumstances must be horrible.”
When asked whether he would deport unaccompanied migrants, Biden said that a confirmed parent contact, in this situation, would warrant the child being put on a plane and sent back.
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