OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is challenging Joe Biden for the 2024 Democratic nomination, lambasted the president on Friday as the migrant crisis along the U.S.-Mexico border continues to worsen.
RFK Jr., who characterized the mess as a “humanitarian crisis,” made his remarks as he made a return visit to a portion of the porous border in Texas, telling supporters in Austin that Democrats and Republicans should work together to “quickly secure the borders,” The Epoch Times reported.
“Since Biden was elected, 7 million immigrants have come across the border illegally,” Kennedy said, according to the outlet. “In the same period, just 3.1 million arrived legally. What that means is the Mexican drug cartels are driving American border policy.
“We need unity. This shouldn’t be a Democratic issue or a Republic issue,” he noted further, according to the outlet. “The Democrats who have been urging an open border policy need to look at the evidence now and rethink their positions. And we need to quickly secure the borders.
“Then we can think about work permits or amnesty programs. But we can’t sell those to the American people until the borders are closed and the frontiers are secure,” he noted further.
The Epoch Times added:
Mr. Kennedy held the press conference on the same day that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released an update showing the number of people trying to illegally enter the United States illegally reached the highest monthly figure in recorded history in August.
According to the agency, 304,162 people were either deemed inadmissible at points of entry or were caught by Border Patrol agents after crossing the border illegally in August.
That figure stood at 245,213 in July. The August numbers represented a 24 percent increase.
The previous record was also established during President Biden’s tenure, with 302,412 nationwide encounters in December 2022, according to CBP data.
Despite the ongoing increase in illegal immigration, the White House declared on September 20th that the Biden administration would grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to approximately half a million Venezuelans already in the United States. This includes those who entered the country unlawfully, allowing them to temporarily work and be shielded from deportation.
The redesignation means that approximately 472,000 Venezuelans who are presently in the United States may qualify for protection under the program, as per the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
RFK Jr. thinks that’s the wrong approach.
“Giving 470,000 migrants work visas is a signal to the rest of the world that anyone who comes to this country is going to get a work visa. And that’s the last thing we want to signal at this point. Until the border is secure, we should not be talking about work visas for anybody,” he told the crowd in Austin.
Other Democrats have also stepped up their criticism of Biden over what they and many Republicans call his ‘open border’ policies, including New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who touted the Big Apple’s “sanctuary city” status when he was running for the office during the Trump administration.
After months of having tens of thousands of illegal aliens bussed to his city by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R), Adams is complaining about the massive influx and how it is going to “destroy” his city.
“I’m gonna tell you something New Yorkers, never in my life have I had a problem that I didn’t see an ending to. I don’t see an ending to this… This issue will destroy New York City. Destroy New York City,” Adams told the city council and other officials this week, according to a video clip posted on social media.
He then blasted the Biden administration.
“Month after month, I stood up and said, this is gonna come to a neighborhood near you. Well, we’re here, we’re getting no support on this national crisis, and we’re receiving no support,” he said, adding that 10,000 migrants per month are flooding into the city.
“One hundred ten thousand migrants we have to feed, clothe, house, educate the children, wash their laundry sheets, give them everything they need, health care,” Adams said. “Now we’re getting Western Africa, now we’re getting people from all over the globe that made their minds up that they’re gonna come through the southern border and coming to New York City.”
