Ken Cuccinelli calls out Biden admin's 'desperate' plan to restart border wall construction in Arizona
Former DHS official says Sen. Mark Kelly's lead over Blake Masters is shrinking
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former Acting DHS Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli said on "Fox & Friends" Tuesday President Biden's border policy is driven by politics, rather than the ultimate goal to stem the flow of migrants.
Cuccinelli was asked by host Steve Doocy about border wall construction reportedly resuming in Arizona.
Biden said during his Presidential campaign that "not one more foot of border wall" would be built during his administration. Despite this, DHS is working to fill gaps on the border in parts of Arizona.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}BIDEN YET TO VISIT BESIEGED SOUTHERN BORDER, AS WHITE HOUSE CAUGHT IN MIGRANT CONTROVERSY
Cuccinelli argued that this is only being done to help vulnerable Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., in his Senate race against Republican Blake Masters.
"They're going to do that certainly through November 9th when Mark Kelly's re-election campaign will be over in Arizona. And that is why they are doing it. They're targeting a particular election in a particular state."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Mark Kelly on the red carpet at the "#LEGENDARYFUTURE" Roadshow 2018 New York on February 22, 2018. PHOENIX, ARIZONA - AUGUST 01: Republican U.S. senatorial candidate Blake Masters waves to supporters at the conclusion of a campaign event on the eve of the primary at the Duce bar on August 01, 2022 in Phoenix. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Brandon Bell)
Cuccinelli argued "Joe Biden's immigration policies … do not help Mark Kelly," with Masters now "within the margin of error in many polls."
"There's some desperation in the White House," he said.
The number of migrant encounters at the southern border rose to over 200,000 in August, as the border faced an increase in migrants coming from Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba, which officials said was driving a "new wave of migration" across the Hemisphere.
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The Biden administration has been fending off significant criticism from Republicans over its handling of the raging crisis at the southern border. There have now been over two million encounters this fiscal year, in addition to the more than 1.7 million encounters last fiscal year.
The administration has claimed that it is both reconstructing legal asylum pathways that were broken down during the Trump administration, while also touting a strategy that targets "root causes" of the crisis like poverty, violence, and climate change in Central America.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report