Democratic Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson dodged Sunday when a Fox News reporter asked if he thinks the U.S.-Mexico border is secure.
Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin asked Thompson the question in light of prominent Democrats, most notably Vice President Kamala Harris and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, claiming that the “border is secure.”
“Is the border secure?” Melugin asked.
“I have to go give a speech,” Thompson replied. “Did you hear me?”
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“I heard you. It’s a quick question. Is the border secure?” Melugin asked as Thompson walked away. (RELATED: ‘I Certainly Won’t Take That Advice’: Jean-Pierre Responds To Invitation From Ted Cruz To Visit The Border)
The number of encounters at the border more than doubled since President Joe Biden assumed office in January 2021, surpassing 2 million since October 2021. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported encountering a total of 458,088 migrants at the border in the 2020 fiscal year, Customs. This number rose to 1.7 million and then to 2,150,639 in 2022.
The influx of migrants have also led to a surge in deaths at the border, the most common cause from drowning. Eagle Pass, Texas has run out of space to place the migrants and are requesting more refrigerator freezers and plots of land to store and bury the unidentified deceased.
Despite this, Harris told NBC News’ Chuck Todd that the border is secure and said they inherited the current issues from former President Donald Trump’s administration. Mayorkas and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre have also stated that the “border is secure.”
Jean-Pierre touted the administration adding 23,000 border agents and expelling a greater number of migrants this year than in 2021 at a Sept. 16 press briefing when pressed on the administration blaming Trump for the crisis.