A few days ago, the situation of immigrants on the US-Mexico border, especially the situation of children, has aroused concern from all walks of life. On March 22, U.S. Vice President Harris began laughing when asked if she was going to visit the border, she replied ," "Not today." This behavior has aroused public criticism.
In response to a question about the U.S.-Mexico border, Harris laughed at a screenshot of the online video
According to Fox News, on the 22nd local time, Harris's "Air Force One" arrived at Jacksonville International Airport in Florida. In an interview, a reporter said that the immigration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border is intensifying, and asked her if she plans to visit the southern border area.
Harris hesitated for a moment before saying, "Not today!" He laughed. Harris then added that she had been there before and might go back in the future. After this scene was exposed, it triggered heated discussion among netizens.
Many people feel that in the face of border issues, Harris's laughter is indeed inappropriate.
"A person always laughs when asked serious questions, and there are some problems. The situation on the border is not funny at all. ”
Image source social media, the same below
"She avoided every problem in her career with this delicate and contrived laugh."
"The child is in a cage, and Harris is laughing."
Many politicians and social figures have also criticized Harris's laughter about border immigration.
Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, told Fox News: "Well, that's not funny. I want the vice president and the president to go to the (U.S.-Mexico) border. I would be happy to be there to greet them, where they could meet what I saw and talk to the border experts. The Border Patrol, health and human services, local government officials and stakeholders, are now bearing the burden of the administration's policy of opening up borders. ”
Rep. Steve Scalise, Republican of Louisiana, wrote: "Look, when asked if there were plans to visit the border, Harris laughed at reporters. When this administration says they are serious about resolving this crisis, don't trust them. ”
Dinesh D'Souza, a conservative commentator, asked her, "What's so funny about putting a child in a cage..."
However, some netizens believe that this is a big fuss in the US media and deliberately find fault, because Harris usually likes to laugh.
Fox News reported on the 22nd that the Democratic government refused to call the border issue a "crisis" while insisting on describing the problem as a "circumstance" (circumstance). The media said that for this reason, the White House did not respond to the question of "whether Harris's behavior is considered appropriate" in the first place.
As of the morning of the 24th local time, the White House press conference and Harris's personal social account did not respond to the matter.
Harris's laugh has sparked controversy more than once. According to media outlets such as the New York Post reported last year, Harris does laugh on various occasions, and some serious occasions are no exception.
Harris laughs in an interview with the "60 Minutes" show video screenshot
In October 2020, then-US President Donald Trump also said: "She will not become the first female president, you can't let that happen." I said, 'Is she sick?' (something wrong with her) kept laughing and talking about very serious questions. ”
More than 15,000 underage migrants have been detained in a worrying situation
Public opinion's questioning of Harris stems from the high-profile US-Mexico border issue.
On March 16, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement that the number of illegal immigrants along the U.S.-Mexico border has skyrocketed, and the U.S. side has deported most single adult illegal immigrants and illegal immigrant families, but will not deport unaccompanied illegal immigrant children. The situation of migrant children has subsequently raised concerns.
According to the US CBS reported on the 20th, records show that about 15,500 unaccompanied minor immigrants are currently detained by the US government. As of the morning of the 20th, facilities operated by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP), as well as Border Patrol stations along the U.S.-Mexico border, held more than 5,000 unaccompanied children.
CBS said the unaccompanied children were held by U.S. Customs and Border Protection for an average of 136 hours, according to government records, far more than the 72 hours mandated by U.S. law. Mark Weber, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), said on the 20th that HHS is placing about 10,500 children in state-licensed emergency housing facilities and shelters.
Subsequently, a set of pictures detonated the network.
On the 22nd, Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar shared a photo of an immigration facility in Donna, Texas. The photos show children huddled in a room without any precautions. Fox News wrote in the report that this is how the Biden administration treats border migrants during border crises and outbreaks.
Source Henry Couet's office, same below
"Freedom of the press, nothing more"
Also exposed and criticized are the U.S. government's press restrictions on border immigration.
Fox News reported that the White House restricted media access to border facilities on the grounds of preventing the spread of the new crown virus.
This sparked discontent in the media community. Journalist Joohn Moore said on the 19th that this was unprecedented during the Obama and Trump administrations. Moore wrote, "I would like to ask U.S. Customs and Border Protection to stop restricting media access to its borders," and on the 22nd, he tweeted again, "I am a photojournalist, why did the U.S. government prevent me from entering border immigration facilities?" ”
Journalists expressed dissatisfaction with the U.S. government's restriction of access on social media
Fox News said the Way the Democratic administration handled the border crisis also sparked opposition and criticism from Republicans.
Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, slammed in a letter on the 22nd that the Biden administration's categorical refusal to allow the media to enter was outrageous and hypocritical.
Cruz said that when the Biden administration first took office, he stressed the importance of "truth and transparency" through White House spokesman Psaki, and also said that he "deeply respects the role of free and independent media." However, in the face of a crisis of its own making, the Biden administration has now changed its mind. The U.S. government is hiding the truth from the American people.
Image source U.S. government website
On the US-Mexico border issue, the two parties clashed again
The US media said that Harris laughed when asked about the border issue, which in the eyes of Republicans did not pay due attention to the border issue.
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of the U.S. House of Representatives said Harris, as vice president, had "laughed aside" at the once-in-a-century humanitarian crisis [on the U.S.-Mexico border]. He said Republicans are different, who have been concerned about border security and have responded positively to the needs of Border Patrol personnel.
Image source social media
Border and immigration issues have become hot topics in the current confrontation between the two parties in the United States.
The Associated Press (AP) and CNN reported earlier that before Harris's words and deeds attracted public attention, many Republicans clung to the border issue and blamed it on the failure of Biden's leadership.
Earlier this week, McCarthy pointed the finger at Biden: "This crisis is the result of the policies of the new administration, and nothing says anything more than the 'Biden border crisis.'" John Katko, a senior Republican on the Homeland Security Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, agrees that there are already signs of crisis in the border areas.
Unsurprisingly, Republicans and Democrats have also opened the "throw the pot" mode.
Senator Tom Cotoon, Republican of Arkansas, believes the current "border crisis" is the result of Biden's promises of amnesty, open borders and free medical care for illegal immigrants during the campaign.
Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Texas Democrat, called the crisis a legacy of the Trump administration because "we've been seeing an increase in unaccompanied children since last April."
There are also people who believe that in fact, the two parties are "half a pound and eight twos", which is just as bad.
Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez said the Trump administration's immigration policy was undoubtedly inhumane, "but our current policy has also failed."
"Immigration is like a stock market"
Since 2018, the scale of immigration to the United States in Central America has been expanding. Some people in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador have tried to enter the United States through Mexico. This year, in particular, on March 11, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said law enforcement officers detained nearly 100,000 illegal immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border in February, up 28 percent month-on-month. Today, the U.S.-Mexico border is facing the largest wave of illegal immigration in 20 years.
In February, 100,000 immigrants tried to enter the United States
The Washington Post reported that the sharp increase in immigration was due to the impact of the coronavirus, which hit the economies of countries such as Honduras and Guatemala hard, and in November, two more hurricanes swept through Central America. Latin Americans, already suffering from disease and violence, are now even more difficult.
The Washington Post quoted immigrant aid groups as saying another reason was that "the White House has changed."
Alejandro Solalinde, an advocate for the migration organization, said of it, "Immigration is like a stock market that reacts positively or negatively to any disturbance." "Since Biden became the presidential candidate, he has given hope to immigrants, though he never said the United States would open its doors to all immigrants."
During the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump, he pushed for immigration policy reform with a tough attitude. For example, the suspension of the Deferred Repatriation of Childhood Immigrants (DACA) established during the Obama era, the implementation of the "Ban on Muslims", and the replacement of family-based kinship chain immigration with merit-based policies based on education and employment considerations. While this has triggered criticism from public opinion, it has also made some people feel that immigration is not so easy.
After Biden took office, he abolished a number of "zero tolerance" immigration policies during the Trump era and no longer repatriated immigrant children who were not accompanied by adults, so many people in Latin America looked forward to the relaxation of immigration policies in the United States and flocked north, the number of people has far exceeded the capacity of border areas, which has made the immigration issue once again become the focus of political controversy in the United States.
In March, the Biden administration tested the waters of comprehensive immigration reform, and the U.S. House of Representatives voted on the American Dream and Commitment Act and the Farm Labor Modernization Act. Under both bills, the U.S. government will provide naturalization channels for more than 2.5 million "dreamers" and "living in the United States for humanitarian protection, as well as more than 1 million undocumented farm laborers." This has made many people feel new opportunities.
The Washington Post reported that the Biden administration has "changed and unchanged": The Biden administration has continued the Policy of the Trump era, expelling most illegal adult immigrants. But officials have decided to accept unaccompanied children, which has led to a growing wave of child-dominated migrants. This problem is particularly pronounced in parts of the U.S.-Mexico border.
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