White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended the Biden administration's decision to fill in some gaps in the border wall system in the Yuma Sector amid the historic crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, but she said it was racist to build a border wall when Donald Trump was president.
Going as far back as 2016 and as recently as 2019, Jean-Pierre repeatedly decried Trump's plan to build a wall along the southern border.
.@realDonaldTrump where are the pesos for your bigoted wall?
— Karine Jean-Pierre (@K_JeanPierre) February 15, 2019
.@realDonaldTrump #WhereAreThePesos for your bigoted wall?!?
— Karine Jean-Pierre (@K_JeanPierre) January 9, 2019
Day 30 of Donald Trump taking more than 800,000 federal workers and their families hostage for a bigoted border wall that Trump promised Mexico would pay for.
— Karine Jean-Pierre (@K_JeanPierre) January 20, 2019
Beware of those who "build up walls to keep people out." #LoveTrumpsHate https://t.co/WgmNTE9Acv
— Karine Jean-Pierre (@K_JeanPierre) June 3, 2016
The gaps in the border wall system in Yuma were created after President Joe Biden ordered a freeze on new construction. Since then, the Yuma Sector has been one of the busiest sectors along the southern border in terms of illegal crossings.
Jean-Pierre said on Friday the Biden administration was not building new wall, rather they are "cleaning up the mess the prior administration left behind" by not finishing border wall construction prior to 2021.
DOOCY: "Why is the Biden administration building a border wall in Arizona?"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 29, 2022
KJP: "We are not finishing the wall. We are cleaning up the mess the prior administration left behind in their failed attempt to build a wall." pic.twitter.com/3tc7cctvhX