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Welcome to another edition of Ringside Politics with Jeff Crouere
Today’s Hot Topics:
1) New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spent much of her virtual town hall last night criticizing the “completely inhumane and unacceptable, horrifying conditions” at the U.S.-Mexico border, taking both political parties to task for a crisis with many long-standing roots and systemic failures. Currently being detained by Customs and Border Protection are 5,767 children, the highest number ever since the department began recording. And there are a staggering 17,650 children in the custody of the federal government overall, including shelter facilities and other housing.
The Biden administration is struggling to process unaccompanied minors who have been picked up by Border Patrol fast enough, leaving many of them in the stark, abusive conditions of the detention centers that became notorious during Trump’s family-separation policy: ice-cold cells with chained fences, with children using Mylar blankets and lacking adequate nutrition and hygiene.
2) Vice President Kamala Harris had her first face-to-face meeting with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday on her first foreign trip in office — but a visit the administration said was focused on addressing the root causes of migration risks being overshadowed by criticism of the vice president, both from Republicans and members of her own party.
Harris, currently on the second half of a two-day visit to Guatemala and Mexico, has been getting attack by conservatives for not visiting the southern border since President Joe Biden tasked her with an immigration role in March, when a record-breaking number of unaccompanied minors were crossing the southern border. Now, she is hearing new backlash from progressives for using her international spotlight in Guatemala on Monday to tell immigrants, “Do not come.”
Speaking with reporters between events in Mexico City on Tuesday, Harris addressed criticism that she didn’t include the border in her trip.
“You can’t say you care about the border without caring about the root causes,” Harris said.
3) Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., on Tuesday released video of her taking a cardboard cutout of Vice President Kamala Harris to the border, as the vice president continued to take heat for failing to visit in more than 70 days since she was tasked with handling the migrant crisis.
“More than 70 days ago, Biden named cackling Kamala as border czar but she hasn’t done a single thing to protect the American people,” Boebert said in the video as she visited McAllen, Texas.
4) White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Friday upheld the Biden administration’s immigration policies in response to criticism from former President Donald Trump.
The former president in a statement reported Friday derided Biden’s newly instated immigration agenda, which includes measures meant to reverse controversial Trump-era policies.
Trump said the reversal of his own policies led to a rise in migration at the southern border.
“The spiraling tsunami at the border is overwhelming local communities, depleting budgets, crowding hospitals, and taking jobs from legal American workers,” Trump said in a statement. “When I left office, we had achieved the most secure border in our country’s history. Under Biden, it will soon be worse, more dangerous, and more out of control than ever before. He has violated his oath of office to uphold our Constitution and enforce our laws.”
Today’s Guests:
1) Dr. Eric Nepute; Owner, Nepute Wellness Centers in St. Louis; Founder of Wellness Warrior
2) Simulcast with Bill Martinez, host of Bill Martinez Live
3) Gail Heriot, Author of “A Dubious Expediency: How Race Preferences Damage Higher Education“
