On Friday, former president Donald Trump released a 429-word statement condemning his successor’s immigration policy.
Trump called the situation at the border a “spiraling tsunami” and claimed that the Biden Administration has “given the smugglers and traffickers effective control of our border.”
A reporter asked White House press secretary Jen Psaki for a reaction at her daily briefing. She responded:
“We don’t take our advice or counsel from former President Trump on immigration policy, which was not only inhumane but ineffective over the last four years. We’re going to chart our own path forward, and that includes treating children with humanity and respect.”
The Biden administration has faced an uptick in border crossings in recent weeks. On Thursday, The Washington Post reported that Biden’s Department of Homeland Security plans to convert “family detention centers in South Texas into Ellis-Island-style rapid-processing hubs that will screen migrant parents and children with a goal of releasing them into the United States within 72 hours.”