Former ICE director slams Biden admin for 'breathtaking level of incompetence' at border
Jonathan Fahey provides analysis of the Biden administration's handling of the border crisis as Title 42 is set to end.
Former ICE Director Jonathan Fahey chastised the Biden administration for displaying a "breathtaking level of incompetence" on the U.S. southern border as the end of Title 42 draws near.
In an interview on "America Reports" Tuesday, Fahey slammed the White House for failing to establish a plan to deal with the expected influx of migrants already lining up at the border, telling Fox News host John Roberts that the immigration crisis is "going to get so much worse" once Title 42 is lifted on May 11.
"It’s going to get so much worse, and the idea [that] they didn’t expect this, that’s really breathtaking the level of incompetence," Fahey said. "Everyone knows this is going to happen, and it’s going to get worse and also shows when she talks about deterrence, there’s no deterrent whatsoever. They are in plain sight walking across and the moment they get to the United States they will receive every benefit that American citizens get and this administration will not deport them, absent the most extraordinary circumstance."
CIUDAD JUAREZ , MEXICO - MAY 08: An aerial view of migrants wait to cross the Rio Bravo into the United States before the Title 42 policy, which allows for the immediate expulsion of irregular migrants entering the country, comes to an end, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on May 08, 2023. (Christian Torres Chavez/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday refused to discuss "hypotheticals" about the number of migrants expected to surge across the southern border at the end of Title 42, insisting that there is a plan to deal with the crisis "humanely."
"Our focus when it as it relates to managing the border is we're going to do this through enforcement, deterrence and diplomacy," she said.
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 09: White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during the daily news briefing at the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on May 09, 2023 in Washington, DC. Jean-Pierre took questions from reporters on a range of topics including U.S. President Joe Biden's upcoming meeting with Congressional Leadership over the debt ceiling and the expiration of Title 42. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Fahey said the White House has repeatedly demonstrated they have "no plan now to deal with it."
"They are not dealing with this in a remotely serious way in any respect," he told Roberts.
GOV. ABBOT TAKES ACTION TO SECURE US-MEXICO BORDER AHEAD OF TITLE 42 EXPIRATION: ‘MORE TO COME’
The looming end of Title 42 has put Border Patrol officials and Republican border hawks on edge as tens of thousands of migrants are expected to pour across the border and overwhelm law enforcement. Title 42 has been used since 2020 by both the Trump and Biden administration to expel hundreds of thousands of migrants quickly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, nearly half of all migrant encounters ended in a Title 42 expulsion. The order will end on May 11 along with the COVID-19 national emergency.
Last month, the Biden administration confirmed it will terminate the policy at the end of May despite objections from both Democrats and Republicans warning that it would trigger a massive migrant wave.
Fahey said that while immigration reform remains a point of contention politically, Congress can help quell the chaos at the border by enforcing existing laws already in place in the U.S.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, left, shakes hands with members of the Texas National Guard as they prepare to deploy to the Texas-Mexico border in Austin, Texas, Monday, May 8, 2023. The Title 42 policy, a federal rule that has allowed the government to strictly regulate border entries, is set to expire this week. ((AP Photo/Eric Gay))
"Whether or not immigration needs to be reformed overall, we can deal with this issue by enforcing laws we have in place. If you look at things like Remain in Mexico, that [makes] … everyone claiming asylum stay in Mexico until their claims the claims heard. People crossing non-ports of entry are prosecuted for illegal entry, which is a misdemeanor, and they are not enforcing those laws, but if you do those things, enforce the law with serious criminals that are already here when they commit a crime, cut down on sanctuary cities, this problem would be a small fraction of what it is now and then you could start finding other ways to deal with it," he said.
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"It's absolutely absurd…it’s really on Congress to enforce new laws or to pass laws, and they’ll enforce the future laws," he continued, "but they're not enforcing the law in any respect, and they don’t want to, they actually want this to happen."
Fox News' Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
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