During a press conference Monday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made the claim that the southern border was not “open.” In addition to this statement, the White House Official found it necessary to put forward that those who claim otherwise are guilty of spreading “misinformation”. The Biden administration has been under fire recently for their mishandling of the border crisis and the allowance of unprecedented amounts of unvetted and illegal aliens across the border. These Jean-Pierre comments come in the wake of the upcoming expiration of Title 42, a public health rule passed in March of 2020 that, when it expires, officials predict will lead to an additional 9,000 – 15,000 new migrants a day.
FOX NEWS: Karine Jean-Pierre faces backlash after claiming the border is not open: ‘A bold-faced lie’
Lindsay Kornick; December 20, 2022
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre insisted the border was not “open” and that anyone suggesting otherwise was doing the work of human smugglers in another ridiculed press conference Monday.
A major topic during the briefing was the looming expiration of Title 42, a public health rule in place since March 2020 that has been used to stem the growing border crisis by turning away migrants. Though border towns have expressed concerns over daily arrivals potentially doubling from the impact, the White House has been hesitant to explain how it plans to prepare for the impact of the expected 9,000 to 15,000 new arrivals per day.
Meanwhile, Jean-Pierre argued that these reports and the potential end of Title 42 don’t suggest the border is open and attacked anyone who claims that to be “spreading misinformation.”
“I want to be very clear here. The fact is that the removal of Title 42 does not mean the border is open,” Jean-Pierre said. “Anyone who suggests otherwise is simply doing the work of these smugglers who, again, are spreading misinformation which is very dangerous.”
She also said, “”It would be wrong to think the border is open. It is not open.”
These claims incurred the wrath of Twitter as users claimed the press secretary was “gaslighting” the country by refusing to recognize the historic numbers of border crossings under the Biden administration.
“KJP continues an epic run as [White House press secretary]…” The Hill columnist Joe Concha tweeted.
“What a mess,” sportscaster Dan Dakich agreed.
Republican communicator Matt Whitlock wrote, “Curious if she knows that dozens of Democrats have been making that point.”
National Review contributor Pradheep J. Shanker tweeted, “This is gaslighting. The border is more open today [than] it has been in the last decade. Don’t believe me? See Biden’s own DHS stats that confirm this.”
Radio host Buck Sexton wrote, “The only people who think the southern border isn’t ‘open’ are White House officials and regime media propagandists.”
“A bold-faced lie,” Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw proclaimed, sharing photos of hundreds of illegal migrants crossing the border at night.
Substack writer John Hawkins added, “There’s an easy solution to the enormous numbers of illegals making asylum claims to game our broken immigration laws. Stop giving anyone asylum. It’s not as if it’s benefitting [sic] us in any way.”
After the press briefing, the U.S. Supreme Court put a temporary hold on the expiration of Title 42 on Dec. 21.
Both Republican and Democratic politicians have called on President Biden to extend the policy, warning the end of Title 42 will bring immigration disaster.
Photo: AP Photo/Susan Walsh