Whenever the mainstream media and average Americans talk about Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) holding facilities, many repeatedly talk about the Trump administration "locking children in cages." The truth is, those policies began under the Obama administration, back in 2014.
Univision's Jorge Ramos asked former Vice President Joe Biden about the practice. Not only did Biden attempt to spin the narrative but he also flopped while doing so.
"At the debate in Houston, you said that the Obama-Biden administration, and I quote, 'We didn't lock people in cages.' But you actually did," Ramos said. "Not at the same numbers as the Trump administration, but you did."
The journalist pulled out a picture of an 8-year-old boy from Honduras and showed it to Biden. The former veep looked at the picture.
"Yes," Biden replied, before realizing the admission he made. "Wait. Wait. Wait. This was–"
"This was in 2014 at a detention center in McAllen, Texas," Ramos replied. "I spoke with the photographer."
Once Biden realized he was caught, he attempted to spin the story.
"Yes, and what happened was all the unaccompanied children were coming across the border. We tried to get them out. We kept them safe and get them out of the detention centers that's, essentially that center, that were run by Homeland Security, and get them into communities as quickly as we can," he replied.
Ramos followed up by showing him the picture again.
"Many people would say these are cages," the journalist replied.
"You know you're not telling the truth here about the comparison of the two things," Biden snapped back.
Ramos clarified his position, saying the numbers between the Trump and Obama administrations vary.
"Beyond that, look how quickly we got them back to families. Look, we didn't engage and we sought the relatives here. We sought to get them in safe communities. We sought to get them out of the control of Homeland Security, to get them safe" the former veep explained. "But they came unaccompanied. Unaccompanied."
Biden touted his ability to get $750 million to invest in Central American countries – like Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador – so illegal aliens wouldn't flock to the United States.
"But they kept coming," Ramos replied.
"Well, no," Biden said.
"I remember that. They kept coming," Ramos said again.
"Well, no, they didn't. They dropped off extensively," a wide-eyed Biden said. "Extensively."
"And there was another wave of Central Americans coming," the journalist reminded him.
Biden said the caravan came back because the Trump administration "stopped spending the money."
"They stopped going after the gangs. They stopped the street legging. They stopped building Boys and Girls Clubs," he explained.
The former vice president seems to have forgotten that a Senate report found that "an unknown number of Central American migrant children [were placed} into the custody of human traffickers after neglecting to run the most basic checks on these so-called 'caregivers'" during the Obama administration, the Intelligencer reported.
So, what's the story, Joe? At least if you're going to spin what you say, be consistent. Either the Obama administration did lock kids in these so-called "cages" or they didn't. If you say the administration didn't follow this practice then you wouldn't have an explanation for why these kids were, in fact, in the "cages."
Pick a story. Stick to it.
Biden explains to Jorge Ramos why the Obama administration put kids in cages: "We kept them safe... They came unaccompanied. Unaccompanied." pic.twitter.com/r6KWD6IDiB
— Eddie Zipperer (@EddieZipperer) February 15, 2020