Tipsheet

Oops: Psaki Accidentally Says There is a Crisis on the Border, Then Runs Cleanup

Katie Pavlich
Katie Pavlich  |  March 18, 2021 1:50 PM

Speaking to reporters at the White House Thursday afternoon, Press Secretary Jen Psaki briefly slipped away from the Biden administration's narrative that there is not a crisis at the border. 

When asked if the adminstration was changing their position on the situation, she reverted back to the approved talking point: it is a challenge, not a crisis.

Meanwhile, Border Patrol agents have been told not to allow reporters into overwhelmed processing facilties and to deny requests for ride alongs as the crisis gets worse.

The Biden administration is restricting the information Border Patrol agents and sector chiefs can share with the media as a surge of migrants tests the agency's capacity at the southern border, according to four current and two former Customs and Border Protection officials.

The officials say the restrictions are seen as an unofficial "gag order" and are often referred to that way among colleagues. The officials requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media about the topic.

Border Patrol officials have been told to deny all media requests for "ride-alongs" with agents along the southern land border; local press officers are instructed to send all information queries, even from local media, to the press office in Washington for approval; and those responsible for cultivating data about the number of migrants in custody have been reminded not to share the information with anyone to prevent leaks, the officials said.