President Biden’s claim that a “vast majority” of families attempting to migrate to the U.S. since he took office are being turned away or deported was not true, according to a CNN fact check.
During a Thursday press conference, the president claimed that the U.S. is”sending back the vast majority of the families that are coming,” an assertion CNN correspondent Daniel Dale said was not supported by the most recent data released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
“That’s what happening, they’re not getting across the border,” Biden said.
During a CNN fact check of the president’s comments, Dale said that Biden’s claim was not supported by the most recent data released by DHS, which detailed apprehensions for the month of February.
“That was not true in February, which is, of course, the last month for which we have a full month’s data,” Dale said. “It was 41 percent of migrants … as part of family units … who were swiftly sent back, expelled.”
Dale added that it was true the Biden administration had expelled or turned away the vast majority of single adults arriving at the border, but that Biden’s central claim remained false.
The Hill has reached out to the White House and DHS for comment.
The Biden administration has faced pressure from Republicans and increasingly members of the media to answer concerns about a surge of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border at a time when the border is supposed to be closed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The Biden administration has contended that its promises of a humane immigration system have not caused more migrants to chance the journey to the U.S., while Republicans have argued that the president’s reversal of his predecessor’s policies spurred the surge.