On Monday, CNN‘s Rosa Flores noted President Joe Biden‘s first trip to the US–Mexico border had not included actually seeing the situation there. Biden‘s four–hour visit to El Paso had included meetings with NGOs, federal law enforcement, and local officials, but had not included a look at the hundreds of migrants living on the streets.
Flores discussed the widespread criticism of the president‘s decision not to view the reality of the crisis. She mentioned that Biden had missed an opportunity to see the situation firsthand.
I have to admit, I was surprised to see any CNN affiliate report the real situation in El Paso. Flores even acknowledged that Biden intentionally avoided ‘problem’ areas. Biden was also called out for not speaking to any of the illegals.
“That’s why the president is being criticized by both sides because of what he didn’t see,” Flores reported. “So let me show you. This is one of the migrant camps here in downtown El Paso. And you know, the immigration advocates here in El Paso and Governor Greg Abbott usually don’t agree on much but they do raise the same question. If President Biden came here to El Paso to see the reality on the ground about the border and didn’t come here, what’s considered the epicenter of this crisis, did he leave with a clear understanding?”
The White House released a statement indicating that Biden had gone to the most heavily used point of entry and a facility financed by the federal government to meet with nearby authorities in regards to the migrant crisis. Nevertheless, Flores disputed the White House‘s assertions.
Flores called Biden out on that one too.
“My colleague, MJ Lee, asked the White House about the president not interacting or meeting with any migrants and a senior administration official told her that it is because there were no migrants at the respite center at the time that the president visited, and that it was coincidental,” Flores said. “But Poppy, I checked the migrant dashboard that the city of El Paso has. And at the time when the president was here, there were nearly 1,000 migrants who were in federal detention so if the president really wanted to see conditions, I kind of doubt that the President of the United States would have been denied access.”
Flores then pointed to the street right behind her, noting the hundreds of migrants sheltering on the sidewalks.
“This is a city in America, in the United States, and the top executive of this country came here, he did not come to see this,” she said.
