President Joe Biden on Saturday compared the recent Ukrainian refugee crisis in Poland amid Russia's war on Ukraine to the surge of migrants seeking entry into the U.S. through the southern border.
His remarks came during a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw, Poland.
Poland has taken in more than 2.2 million Ukrainian refugees since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine last month. Biden urged other NATO allies to accept more refugees fleeing Ukraine over Russia's war.
"We do acknowledge that Poland is taking on a significant responsibility that I don’t think should just be Poland, it should be the whole world—all of NATO’s responsibility," Biden said at a bilateral meeting with Duda. "The fact that you have so many Ukrainians seeking refuge in this country of Poland, we understand that because we have on our southern border thousands of people a day—literally, not figuratively—trying to get to the United States."
Biden compares Ukrainian refugees crossing into Poland to illegals charging across the U.S. Southern Border. pic.twitter.com/C8FbfzhiXy
— Arthur Schwartz (@ArthurSchwartz) March 26, 2022
Biden also expressed that he believes the U.S. should "do our part relative to Ukraine as well by opening our borders to another 100,000 people." Earlier this week, the White House announced that the U.S. will accept up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees through different immigration pathways, including the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, which permits selected immigrants fleeing war and violence to receive permanent residence in the U.S.
More than 3.7 million Ukrainians have fled their country since the start of Russia's invasion.
And at the U.S.-Mexico border, agents have encountered more than 2 million migrants attempting to enter the U.S. during Biden's first year in office. In July of 2021, U.S. border agents encountered a record-breaking 213,593 migrants. The most recent border statistics showed there were 164,973 migrant encounters in February, a 7 percent increase over January and a 60 percent increase over February of 2021.