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Nancy Pelosi: 'We Have Never Not Said That There Was a Crisis' at the Border

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she and fellow Democrats have not denied there is a crisis at the southern border during a news conference on Thursday, though earlier this year she and her congressional colleagues did just that.

A reporter asked the speaker: “(F)or a number of months the Democrats have been saying that the issue over at the border was simply a manufactured crisis. Are the Democrats willing to say now that there is an actual crisis at the border?”

Pelosi responded, “Well, let me just say this. We have never not said that there was a crisis. There is a humanitarian crisis at the border, and some of it provoked by the actions taken by the administration.”

“It’s really sad,” she later said, referencing the Trump administration’s short-lived child separation policy, which the president ended by executive order last June.

Pelosi also characterized what is happening as “tragic” and she said she hopes to approve funding to help handle the mass influx of migrants.

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“And we understand our responsibility to secure our border,” she said. “But the manner in which the administration has gone forward undermines our humanitarianism as a country. We will hopefully work together in a bipartisan way to address this.”

In January, Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and their fellow Democrats opposed President Donald Trump’s efforts to obtain additional funding to secure the border.

Do you think Democrats are in denial about the crisis at the border?

Democrats also accused him of falsely claiming there was a crisis at the border in order to declare a national emergency to obtain additional border wall funding.

“President Trump must stop holding the American people hostage, must stop manufacturing a crisis,” Pelosi said in January in response to Trump’s first televised address from the Oval Office, during which he made the case for additional funding for border wall construction.

Schumer reiterated the point, saying, “President Trump just used the backdrop of the Oval Office to manufacture a crisis.”

In February, Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the border situation a “manufactured crisis,” while Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said it was a “fake” one.

On Wednesday, former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said what is happening at the border is a “crisis.”

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“We had 100,000 apprehensions in the month of March and another 100,000 in the month of April. That’s the highest it’s been in 12 years,” Johnson told Fox News host Neil Cavuto.

Johnson blamed the crisis in large part on the 1997 Flores decision.

Under the 1997 Flores v. Reno settlement, federal authorities may only detain unaccompanied migrant children for 20 days, then they must be released to parents, adult relatives or sanctioned programs.

In 2015, U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee, an Obama appointee, ruled that the Flores requirements apply to both unaccompanied minors and children apprehended with their parents. This update makes deporting families with children seeking asylum virtually impossible.

“The Flores decision has not helped frankly,” Johnson said. “That was a decision reached by a federal district court in Los Angeles in 2015. I was opposed to it then. I’m opposed to it now.”

Carla Provost, the current chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, shares Johnson’s assessment.

Asked by CNN’s Jim Sciutto on Wednesday what the cause was of the surging number of migrants at the border, Provost answered, “I can tell you it’s slowly been progressing. Ever since families have heard the word if you bring a child, you will be released. They’re talking to their family members. Smugglers are encouraging them.”

In a speech from the Rose Garden on Thursday, Trump called for a change to the nation’s asylum law to address the “pull factor,” which Provost said is drawing tens of thousands of migrants to the U.S. border on a monthly basis.

“We must also restore the integrity of our broken asylum system,” Trump said.

“Our nation has a proud history of affording protection to those fleeing government persecutions. Unfortunately, legitimate asylum seekers are being displaced by those lodging frivolous claims — these are frivolous claims — to gain admission into our country.”

“My plan expedites relief for legitimate asylum seekers by screening out the meritless claims,” he added. “If you have a proper claim, you will quickly be admitted; if you don’t, you will promptly be returned home.”

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Randy DeSoto has written more than 2,000 articles for The Western Journal since he joined the company in 2015. He is a graduate of West Point and Regent University School of Law. He is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths" and screenwriter of the political documentary "I Want Your Money."
Randy DeSoto is the senior staff writer for The Western Journal. He wrote and was the assistant producer of the documentary film "I Want Your Money" about the perils of Big Government, comparing the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Randy is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths," which addresses how leaders have appealed to beliefs found in the Declaration of Independence at defining moments in our nation's history. He has been published in several political sites and newspapers.

Randy graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a BS in political science and Regent University School of Law with a juris doctorate.
Birthplace
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Nationality
American
Honors/Awards
Graduated dean's list from West Point
Education
United States Military Academy at West Point, Regent University School of Law
Books Written
We Hold These Truths
Professional Memberships
Virginia and Pennsylvania state bars
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Entertainment, Faith




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