CBS' Gayle King contrasts treatment of Ukrainian refugees to migrants at US border: 'Not treated this well'
King said, 'People need to be reminded of that'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CBS' Gayle King, co-host of "CBS Mornings," compared how countries are treating Ukrainian refugees fleeing their country and the threat of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the treatment of migrants at the U.S. border.
King asked guest Dave Miliband, president of the International Rescue Committee, why people coming from El Salvador and Honduras to the U.S. weren't welcomed or "received very well" as the Ukrainians appear to have been. The host also brought up Syria and Afghanistan, asking Miliband what he believed the difference was between these situations and those fleeing Ukraine.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}People fleeing the conflict in Ukraine talk after crossing the Moldova-Ukraine border checkpoint near the town of Palanca, on March 2, 2022, seven days after Russia's military invasion of Ukraine. (NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV/AFP via Getty Images)
"Its simple. There's more fear of incorporating and integrating people from different races and different religions into national life," Miliband said. "What we know, is that in the end, people fleeing for their freedom and for their lives, they're desperate to have a second chance. The countries that they adopt as their new homes, they become patriotic and productive citizens because of the chance that is given them."
King said she believed "people need to be reminded of that."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"You look at people coming from Haiti, people coming, as I said, El Salvador, Honduras. They were not treated this well. I think, we all want the Ukrainian people to be helped, everybody agrees with that, but there is enough pain to go around here," she continued.
Migrants hold a demonstration demanding clearer United States migration policies, at San Ysidro crossing port in Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico on March 2, 2021. (Getty Images)
As of Tuesday, the number of refugees fleeing Ukraine to neighboring countries has reached at least 2 million, according to the United Nations.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Biden announced he was banning the import of Russian oil to the U.S. on Tuesday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was "thankful" that the U.S. hit "Putin's war machine" in a Wednesday tweet and called on other countries to do the same.
Former President Trump has long referred to his political rival as "Sleepy" Joe Biden. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
There were over 178,840 apprehensions at the U.S. border in December. The Mayor of Yuma, Arizona said in January that the state was overwhelmed with migrants and that the city might not have enough resources to account for the surge.