Rep. Ilhan Omar accused the Biden team of already breaking a "core campaign promise" after officials picked to serve in the president-elect’s administration admitted that they would not roll back Trump’s immigration policies all at once.
Susan Rice and Jake Sullivan, President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming domestic policy and national security advisers, respectively, told Spanish wire service EFE that changes to the U.S. immigration system would "take time" and migrants should not expect the border to be "fully open" right away.
"This is a classic bait and switch," the Minnesota Democrat and "Squad" member wrote on Twitter. "It perpetuates Trump’s dehumanization of migrants and breaks a core campaign promise. Democrats lose big when administrations won’t fulfill their promise. I urge the Biden transition team to reconsider this position."
BIDEN OFFICIALS URGE CAUTION ON 'DAY ONE' IMMIGRATION CHANGES, SAY SOME WILL 'TAKE TIME'
"We will be able to take some steps to change policies right away," Rice had said, in comments first reported by The Washington Post. "Others will take time to put in place, and the situation at the border will not transform overnight due in large part to the damage done over the last four years. But we are committed to addressing it in full."
"Migrants and asylum seekers absolutely should not believe those in the region peddling the idea that the border will suddenly be fully open to process everyone on Day 1. It will not," Rice said.
Specifically, Biden had promised in January to end the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) on "day one" of his administration. But Rice said Biden will not immediately end the practice of "expelling" migrants to Mexico, citing public health concerns. The practice was installed by the Trump administration in March. Homeland Security officials say it is needed to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in detention centers.
AS BORDER NUMBERS INCREASE, CBP CHIEF SAYS US FACES 'FULL-BLOWN CRISIS' IF TRUMP-ERA POLICIES END
"Our priority is to reopen asylum processing at the border consistent with the capacity to do so safely and to protect public health, especially in the context of Covid-19," Rice said. "This effort will begin immediately, but it will take months to develop the capacity that we will need to reopen fully."
Sullivan also told EFE the administration would not immediately end Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP).
That policy, known as the "Remain-in-Mexico" policy, has been the cornerstone of the Trump administration’s efforts to end "catch and release" – the term officials used to described migrants being released into the interior to await their immigration hearings.
More than 60,000 migrants have been returned to Mexico under MPP until their hearings are held in tent courts right at the border. Critics have called the policy cruel and one that leaves migrants in danger in Mexico.
"MPP has been a disaster from the start and has led to a humanitarian crisis in northern Mexico," Sullivan said. "But putting the new policy into practice will take time."
Biden has promised to take a radical turn away from Trump’s policies, including ending the building of the border wall, placing a 100-day moratorium on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportations, creating a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants and ending asylum cooperative agreements with Northern Triangle countries that helped stem the flow of migrants to the border.
But Rice acknowledged that much of Biden’s immigration agenda would need the OK from Congress.
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"We need legislative changes to make enduring repairs to our immigration system, and the president-elect will share his vision with Congress," Rice said. "He is committed to working collaboratively with members of Congress to achieve the needed reform that has long eluded the country."
Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
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