Immigration

Karine Jean-Pierre Calls Border Crisis ‘Not Unusual’ As Record Numbers Of Migrants Cross Into US

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the record illegal immigration at the southern border “not unusual” during a press conference on Thursday.

“And what we’re seeing here at the border, the migration flow, increased migration flows, certainly, it ebbs and flows. And were at a time of the year where we’re seeing more at the border, and it’s not unusual. This is an immigration system that has been broken for decades, and the president has taken this very seriously to try to do more,” Jean-Pierre said.

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Negotiations in Congress on a potential deal to fund both security along the southern border and military aid for Ukraine have been paused until the new year, a move the White House is dependent on to address the issue, Jean-Pierre said.

“There’s more to be done, but we need the help of Congress to get that done,” she added.

To address the latest surge at the southern border, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) temporarily closed ports of entry and railways in San Ysidro, California, Lukeville, Arizona and El Paso and Eagle Pass, Texas, an agency spokesperson told the DCNF. The agency reassigned 100 Office of Field Operations employees as well as law enforcement personnel from other agencies, including the Bureau of Prisons, to help Border Patrol.