White House press secretary Jen Psaki had a tense exchange with reporter Peter Doocy of Fox News who pressed about the administration’s vaccine hypocrisy in regard to the illegal aliens at Del Rio, Texas.
Psaki appeared to bristle at Doocy’s question during Monday’s White House media briefing.
“Is somebody asking the foreign nationals who are walking into Del Rio, Texas, and setting up camps on this side of the border for proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test?” Doocy asked.
“Well, first of all, I can, I can readdress for you, or re-talk you through what steps we take,” replied Psaki.
“So, if somebody walks into the country, right across the river, does somebody ask them to see their vaccination card?” Doocy asked.
“Well, let me explain to you again, Peter, how our process works,” responded Psaki.
“As individuals come across the border, and they are uh, both assessed for whether they have, uh, any symptoms, if they have symptoms, the intention is for them to be quarantined, that is our process,” she added.
“They are not intending to stay here for a lengthy period of time. I don’t think it’s the same thing, it’s not the same thing,” she said, interrupting Doocy.
“These are individuals, as we’ve noted, and as we’ve been discussed,” she continued, “we are expelling individuals based on Title 42, specifically because of COVID, because we want to prevent a scenario where large numbers of people are gathering, posing a threat to the community and also to the migrants themselves.”
Doocy followed up by asking why Vice President Kamala Harris (D) hasn’t been seen working on immigration despite being named by President Joe Biden to address the root causes of the crisis. Psaki claimed that Harris had been working on the issue diligently.
The humanitarian crisis at Del Rio worsened quickly as more and more migrants arrived seeking refugee status and overwhelming Border Patrol capabilities. Many of the migrants were originally from Haiti, and some said they had been abused and oppressed in other countries after leaving their home country.
On Monday, the Biden administration began an effort to fly some migrants from Texas to their home country of Haiti. Border Patrol Chief Raul L. Ortiz told reporters Sunday that efforts are underway to remove all the migrants from the squalid makeshift encampment under a bridge.
“We are working around the clock to expeditiously move migrants out of the heat, elements and from underneath this bridge to our processing facilities in order to quickly process and remove individuals from the United States consistent with our laws and our policies,” Ortiz said.
Here’s the video of the tense exchange:
Jen Psaki schools Doocy: ‘Let me explain to you again, Peter, how our process works’
www.youtube.com