Kevin McCarthy on 'Fox & Friends': Biden border crisis now becoming 'human tragedy'
McCarthy says letter to Biden on border surge was not answered
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The issues on the southern border go beyond a crisis and have become "human tragedy," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said on Friday, reacting to the Biden administration denying media access to migrant facilities.
"Quite interesting to watch the press secretary yesterday, the Biden administration walk back calling it a crisis as more people walked across the border," McCarthy told "Fox & Friends."
McCarthy said he sent a letter to the president two weeks ago to discuss "how to solve" issues on the border, but got no response from the White House.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"So I sent him another letter yesterday after going down to the border with 13 members. And what we saw is it's more than just a crisis. This is a human tragedy," McCarthy said.
PSAKI STONEWALLS ON PRESS ACCESS TO BORDER FACILITIES
White House press secretary Jen Psaki did not have a timeline for when the public would be able to see the conditions inside border facilities, despite repeated questioning in her Wednesday briefing.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}One reporter noted that it’s been three weeks since Psaki was first asked about access for journalists inside facilities: "Why are we still not seeing any images inside these facilities?"
"The DHS oversees the Border Patrol facilities, and we want to work with them to ensure we can respect the privacy and obviously the health protocols required by COVID," the press secretary said.
The reporter noted that the administration has not yet released photos either.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Again, we remain committed to sharing with all of you data on the number of kids crossing the border, the steps we're taking, the work we're doing to open up facilities, our own bar we're setting for ourselves, improving and expediting the timeline and the treatment of these children," Psaki said. "And we remain committed to transparency. I don't have an update for you on the timeline for access, but it's certainly something we support."
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McCarthy said that Biden needs to make clear that people should not try to cross the southern border. The House Republican leader also recalled that Biden said that immigrants should immediately surge the border.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He also stated that Biden should finish the wall and reinstate the 'Remain in Mexico' policy, and keep Title 42 restrictions allowing for the rapid expulsion of migrants at the border for public health reasons.
"The facility I went to that the secretary hopefully will go to today is a brand new facility built under the Trump administration. 98,000 square feet. They thought they would never hit capacity,' McCarthy said. "On Monday, they hit capacity."
"You saw children everywhere. It’d break your heart. At the same time, they were moving a thousand children to Midland, 3,000 to Dallas and to more cities across this nation. And they're not testing them for COVID."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.