Press Sec. Circles Around Question If ‘Kids In Containers’ Is A Better Description For White House
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki avoids to answer different questions asked by Fox News reporter Peter Doocy on Wednesday regarding the Biden administration’s decision to open the detention facilities for children apprehended while trying to get into the country at the U.S. border.
Reporter Doocy pushed on Psaki and said, “We spoke yesterday about immigration and this facility, HHS facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, for migrant children and you said, it is not kids in cages.”
Doocy asked Psaki, “We’ve seen some photos now of containers. Is there a better description? Is it kids in containers instead of kids in cages? What is the White House’s description of this facility?”
In the most confusing and question avoiding response, Psaki said there is a number of unaccompanied minors coming into the country without their families and will not be separating those kids, ‘rip them from the arms of their parents at the border’ which makes no sense at all. They are holding unaccompanied children the same way President Trump was criticized for.
Psaki avoided the question to respond, “Well, let me give a broader description of what’s happening here. We have a number of unaccompanied minors, children who are coming into the country without their families, what we are not doing, what the last administration did, was separate those kids, rip them from the arms of their parents at the border, we are not doing that. That is immoral.”
Psaki continued, “And that is not the approach of this administration. These kids, we have a couple of options, we can send them back home and do a dangerous journey back, we are not doing that either. That is also putting them at risk. We can quickly transfer them from CBP to these HHS run facilities. That’s one option, or we can put them with families and sponsors without any vetting. There were some problems that that process ran into as well.”
The press secretary explained their decision, “We’ve chosen the middle option. And these HHS facilities. This is one of them, you’re referring to, we had to expand and open additional facilities, because there was not enough space in the existing facilities … if we were to abide by COVID protocols. That’s the process and the step. This facility in Texas, which has been reopened, has been revamped has been there are teachers there is medical facilities and our objective is to move them move these kids quickly from there to vetted, sponsored families and to places where they can safely be. This is a difficult situation. It’s a difficult choice. That’s the choice we’ve made.
Images of the facilities have been spreading all over social media, Gravel Institute commented, “No more kids in cages.”
“No more kids in cages.” pic.twitter.com/Ot3mEafWyD
— Gravel Institute (@GravelInstitute) February 23, 2021
Fox News Co-Anchor called out Biden, “The Biden @WhiteHouse is housing undocumented noncitizen children in the same facility Democrats described as ‘kids in cages’ during the Trump Administration.”
The Biden @WhiteHouse is housing undocumented noncitizen children in the same facility Democrats described as "kids in cages" during the Trump Administration.
— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) February 24, 2021
Doocy went back about DHS, “We’ve been talking to people down at the border who say that right now, DHS and the Border Patrol are using the same kind of facilities now that they did during the Trump administration, and there’s a facility right now it’s in Donna, Texas, instead of McAllen, Texas, but it’s tents and chain link fence around it.”
Doocy also questioned about the tweet from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez where she lightly criticized the Biden administrations decision to open the facilities.
Psaki of course claimed to not know what AOC tweeted but responded that the situation at the border is ‘heartbreaking’ and the Biden administration is limited to “a couple of choices.”
The press secretary was also asked if the Biden administration would be supportive in allowing reporters to see what the conditions of the facilities are like for the children, Psaki guided Doocy that he would need to ask the Department of Homeland Security that question.
The Firston TV posted the full clip of Fox News reporter Peter Doocy questioning the description of ‘kids in cages’ versus ‘kids in containers’
.@jrpsaki again tries to explain how putting kids in shipping containers is different than what they called "kids in cages" under Trump pic.twitter.com/aRKJ491OI0
— The First (@TheFirstonTV) February 24, 2021
