Fox News White House Correspondent Peter Doocy asked National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby during a press briefing on Tuesday why the Biden Administration is permitting migrants to enter the country illegally.
Doocy referred to the Supreme Court’s Monday ruling that said federal authorities can remove razor wire erected by the State of Texas. Kirby defended removing the wire, despite concerns it would invite more illegal immigration.
“Why are you guys making it easier for people to enter the country illegally?” Doocy asked.
“We aren’t,” Kirby responded.
Doocy then pointed to the lawsuit over cutting the border wire.
“Well, you guys sued to cut razor wire that was put in place by Texas officials,” Doocy said.
“So the Border Patrol could actually do their jobs, but keep going,” Kirby said.
National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd has criticized the Biden Administration’s push to take down the border wire, which Doocy brought up in his back-and-forth with Kirby.
“You won in court, so now what?” Doocy said. “The Border Patrol Union president is saying the Supreme Court’s decision is going to undoubtedly encourage more illegal immigration. Do you guys know better than the border patrol union?”
“The Border Patrol needed access, and that’s why we sued to get rid of that razor wire so that they could do their jobs,” Kirby responded. “And you know what else would help them do their jobs, Peter? More Border Patrol agents. There’s an idea- and if you go back to the supplemental request that we put in there’s money in there for some 1,300 additional Border Patrol agents, we want to help them do their jobs. We want to give them more resources and the answer we kept getting back from House Republicans is no, no, no.”
Doocy then asked Kirby if he thinks razor wire works.
“Does razor wire work for what? Does it work for the Border Patrol to allow them to have the access they need to be able to better process people that are trying to get across the border,” Kirby said. “I don’t think so, and that’s why we asked for it to be removed.”
Under the Biden Administration, illegal immigration has hit record levels, with Border Patrol recording more than 2.2 million encounters with migrants crossing the southern border illegally in fiscal year 2022 and more than 2 million in fiscal year 2023, according to federal data.
In December alone, Border Patrol recorded the highest number of monthly encounters, which surpassed 300,000, according to Fox News.
