On Wednesday’s broadcast of NewsNation’s “Cuomo,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) reacted to reports that the CBP One app has been used to release hundreds of thousands of migrants into the country by stating that the border, “in my lifetime, is one of the most dangerous things we’ve ever faced, it has the ability to brew into something that we can’t even imagine, because we don’t know where an awful lot of these people are, what their intentions [in] coming here [are] for, we weren’t able to adjudicate them or vet them. And that’s what got to stop. And Joe Biden owns it.” Manchin also stated that Democrats could have acted on the border sooner and that while he hopes President Biden declares an emergency on the border during the State of the Union, it would still be “Very late.”
Manchin said, “I’ve always known that we’ve done country paroles, countries that have had horrific conditions, they were supposed to be vetted, as I’ve always understood, vetted in the countries before they were given permission to come here on a parole basis so they could go to work and start creating a life, to see if they deserve to be in our country, and if it worked out for everybody. But that’s been going on for quite some time in many administrations, as I’m understanding it. I think that’s what you’re talking about, country parole.”
He continued, “When we did border parole, that’s when it got totally out of hand, because that’s when catch and release started. The border today, Chris, I think, in my lifetime, is one of the most dangerous things we’ve ever faced, it has the ability to brew into something that we can’t even imagine, because we don’t know where an awful lot of these people are, what their intentions [in] coming here [are] for, we weren’t able to adjudicate them or vet them. And that’s what got to stop. And Joe Biden owns it. He has to say he made a horrible mistake. He can say, and I think I’ve heard this, for humanitarian and humane reasons, after the COVID [pandemic], he tried to help people around the world that were displaced and upheaved and thought that he could give them some respite. Well, guess what, I don’t think he ever intended that we’d ever get overrun. They’ve waited too long to react. The President, today, is trying to fix what he knows is wrong. … And now that Donald Trump has said, wait a minute now, I think if we don’t fix this right now, it might be better for me in the election. Well, it was a mistake that Joe Biden made allowing this to happen and now the ability, I’m willing to come together and fix it, and then Donald Trump saying no for politics, we’re not going to do that, that was horrible.”
Host Chris Cuomo then said, “The Democrats could have brought this bill. They could have done more sooner. Schumer brought it now.”
Manchin responded, “Sure.”
Manchin added, “Joe Biden must act on this. He must not sit there and wait to see if the legislature is going to do something. … He has to declare an emergency. He has to secure the border immediately, and I hope he says that tomorrow night at the State of the Union.”
Cuomo then said, “Yeah, me too. He’ll still be late.”
Manchin responded, “Very late.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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