Trump Criticizes Biden as Border Crisis Escalates

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 28, 2021. John Raoux/AP Photo

Former President Donald Trump excoriated President Joe Biden on Friday over the worsening crisis on the southern border, calling his successor’s leadership “disastrous.”

“Our border is now totally out of control thanks to the disastrous leadership of Joe Biden,” Trump wrote in a statement released on March 5 through an intermediary.

“Our great Border Patrol and ICE agents have been disrespected, demeaned, and mocked by the Biden Administration,” Trump added, referring to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

“A mass incursion into the country by people who should not be here is happening on an hourly basis, getting worse by the minute. Many have criminal records, and many others have and are spreading covid,” he wrote, referring to COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

Trump issued that statement as the Biden administration struggles to contain a deepening crisis on the border. The latest illegal alien influx was triggered by the undoing of several key Trump immigration policies designed to discourage border crossings.

“We don’t take our advice or counsel from former President Trump on immigration policy, which was not only inhumane but ineffective over the last four years. We will chart our own path forward including treating children with humanity and respect and ensuring their safety when they cross our borders,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Friday.

Biden told reporters on Tuesday that the border situation did not amount to a crisis.

“We’ll be able to handle it, God willing,” the president said.

The number of illegal crossings has steadily increased since the presidential election in November, particularly by unaccompanied minors. The Biden administration opened overflow shelters to handle the influx and has begun to release minors to relatives and sponsors in the United States to clear space.

The Trump administration used its public health authority to expel crossing minors, a policy that both stemmed the tide of illegal aliens and deterred further crossings. The Biden administration said it would discontinue the practice. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on March 1, questioning the rationale for axing the policy, citing recent reports about illegal aliens who tested positive for the CCP virus after crossing the border into the United States.

“Refusing to use the authorities available to law enforcement during a global pandemic creates unsafe conditions for Border Patrol agents and the broader public, as well as for the children traveling to the border,” Johnson wrote. “Not surprisingly, it is also resulting in a surge at the southwest border that our facilities and infrastructure are not able to handle.”

In the brief statement, Trump also decried the temporary enforcement freeze which has suspended nearly all deportation proceedings, including those for aliens with criminal records.

“Interior enforcement has been shut down—criminals that were once promptly removed by our Administration are now being released back onto the street to commit heinous and violent crimes,” Trump said. “ICE officers are desperate to remove these convicted criminals, but Biden won’t let them.”