Biden’s Border Policies Are Not Compassionate: Former Sen. DeMint

President Joe Biden’s policies regarding immigration and the border are not compassionate because they incentivize parents to send their children alone on long, dangerous journeys to the United States, former Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said.

“What his policies do is create incentives for parents to send their children on long journeys with very corrupt and abusive people,” DeMint told The Epoch Times’ “CrossRoads.”

“They get to our borders, the whole idea is to get them in our country, as Biden is telling them if [immigration officials] hear they’re afraid, and what they do is [release them] into our country as asylum seekers. This was supposed to be compassionate for them. If you look at what they’re going through now, it’s certainly not compassionate,” he added.

The way the system is currently running undercuts the parallel system that sees some immigrants wait years to gain citizenship or other legal status, said DeMint, the chairman of the Conservative Policy Institute and author of the recently published “They’re Lying To You: 10 Lies That Shape Your Truth.”

“It just doesn’t make any sense when we have the ability to bring people in, particularly in a meritorious way, of people who can make life better for Americans and create more jobs for Americans. Our immigration system in America should not be based on the idea that it is a charity program for the world,” he said.

“In the last month, we’ve seen people from the Middle East, known hotbeds of terrorism have been coming in through our southern border based on the new policies that Biden has put in place. It only takes a few people to hurt a lot of Americans, and that uncontrolled illegal immigration is anything but compassionate.”

The White House has alleged its rollback of key policies implemented under former President Donald Trump, such as the abolition of the “Remain in Mexico” program and halting the use of Title 42 powers to expel unaccompanied minors, is part of an effort to create a “more humane” immigration system.

Former Sen. Jim DeMint, co-author of "Conservative: Knowing What to Keep," in Washington on Oct. 29, 2019. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

“We are all focused on improving the situation, on changing to a more humane and efficient system,” Roberta Jacobson, Biden’s coordinator for the southern border, told reporters in Washington last month.

The previous administration’s policies created a “pent-up demand,” she added, noting that surges in border crossings “tend to respond to hope” and that there is currently “significant hope” because of Biden’s new rules.

Even as the administration relaxes restrictions, officials, including Biden, have insisted the border is not open. However, the number of crossings has surged and the influx, combined with the policies, has put a severe strain on the system, stoking criticism from a range of lawmakers, including Democrats.

Biden’s border policies are designed to create chaos with the ultimate aim of convincing Americans to support more relaxed policies toward illegal immigration, DeMint claimed in his interview with The Epoch Times. Chaos allows for more government control, he said, referencing how the financial crisis of 2008 saw the federal government becoming more involved with the financial system.

“Rahm Emanuel was famous for saying ‘we should never let a good crisis go to waste.’ The left has learned that when they create a crisis, even if it’s in the individual level, and with the victimhood of these individuals, what they call police brutality, they paint a picture that covers our whole country with racism or white supremacism,” he said.

“The chaos benefits those who want the government to control more.”