When I heard Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas say last Sunday on “Meet the Press” that the southern border “is closed,” it immediately brought to mind claims by Iraq’s former information minister – dubbed “Baghdad Bob” and “Comical Ali” (aka Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf) – about Saddam Hussein’s superior military forces.
During the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, al-Sahaf said with a straight face that U.S. forces were “not even (within) 100 miles (of Baghdad),” as TV images showed the truth. It also reminded me of statements by some reporters that last summer’s riots were “mostly peaceful.”
Secretary Mayorkas is asking us to ignore what “our lying eyes” see. Television pictures show thousands of migrants crossing the border. Adding to the mess is the Biden administration’s authorization for ICE to spend $86 million to house migrants in American hotels. Will they also get hotel promotional points?
Predictably, Mayorkas defaulted to the administration’s position of blaming Donald Trump for not controlling the border. In fact, illegal border crossings declined substantially – more than 70% – during the final two years of Trump’s presidency. The Washington Times quoted then-acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan saying as economies in Latin American worsen from COVID-19, he expected “unprecedented” numbers to attempt to cross the border. “Get ready,” he warned. The Biden administration either wasn’t ready, or OK with the invasion.
When certain members of the media, who opposed the Trump presidency, start hammering President Biden for his administration’s failure to control the border, you know the worm is turning. “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd said, “It’s fair to call the deteriorating situation at the U.S.-Mexico border a crisis – even if the Biden administration refuses to use that word. But it’s more than that: It’s a political crisis for the new president, with no easy way out.”