By Christopher Trick, Staff Writer
The Biden administration has promised to implement a gentler and more open system for foreigners who wish to come to America to start a new life, a stark contrast to the previous administration’s stance on immigration.
On President Joe Biden’s official website, there is a stated promise to end the “unrelenting assault on our values and our history as a nation of immigrants.”
However, the Biden administration now deals with an uncontrollable surge in migrants at the border.
As of Monday, March 15, over 100,000 migrants have been apprehended at the southern border, including around 15,000 migrant children, many of whom are unaccompanied.
“We can’t keep up,” border patrol agent Juan Rossi said in an interview with CNN. “This is the biggest surge we’ve seen in 20 years, and it’s time the administration does something about this.”
In an interview with ABC, Biden discouraged migrants from trying to enter the U.S., especially those with children.
“I can say quite clearly: don’t come over,” Biden said. “We’re in the process of getting set up. Don’t leave your town, city, or community.”
When asked how Biden plans to deal with the situation at the border, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki conveyed to reporters that Biden is tackling the problem head-on.
“I would say that his focus is on developing solutions, pushing his team, encouraging his team, to develop solutions that will expedite processing at the border, that will open more facilities that will ensure kids are treated with humanity and also treated safely.”
When Psaki was asked as to whether or not the current situation would signal to Central American migrants that the U.S. is open to mass immigration, Psaki dismissed such a connection.
“I wouldn’t make a direct connection,” she said. “I would say it’s just something where we want to make sure that our system is prepared for to manage the process effectively and smoothly.”
Some students are confident that the current commander-in-chief will be able to find a solution to the problem.
“I’m sure that Biden will be able to solve the problem,” freshmen political science major Brendan Palmice said. “Trump was all about yelling, but Biden can calm down and look at a problem without all the racism and fear mongering.”
Sophomore history major Michael Filone agreed with Palmice.
“I wouldn’t trust Trump to deal with this issue,” he said. “The situation at the border only got worse when he was in office. So much for ‘Build the Wall’ and having Mexico pay for it.”
Other students, however, expressed concern about Biden’s inability to properly navigate the situation at the border.
“Biden’s message is essentially ‘let them all in’,” junior English major Hunter Parisi said. “Does he not know there’s a pandemic going on? Who knows what these people have. We’re full. Go away.”
Senior history major Patrick Scangarelo agreed with Parisi.
“I love how all the Democrats are now blaming Trump for the problem at the border now,” he said. “If they let him go forward with his immigration policies, I bet we wouldn’t have this issue. Do we even have a country anymore?”
As of right now, Biden has not stated any plans to go to the border, and the administration has refused to call the current situation a “crisis.”
Be First to Comment