Biden DHS Deputy Secretary nominee dodges query about decriminalizing illegal border crossing

It sounds like Biden nominee John Tien would fit right in with the rest of the current administration.

It was the likes of AOC who earlier this month proposed to President Biden and Homeland Security Director Alejandro Mayorkas that the United States get more relaxed with what they define as “illegally” entering the United States. It was the week before that, that the Biden administration brought on an anti-ICE activist, Natalie Montelongo, as an Outreach Director.

The common thread in these moves being how the White House is currently handling their immigration policies.

Something at the forefront of questions today for Biden’s nominee for Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, John Tien.

“Do you believe illegal entry at any of our borders should remain a crime?” asked Senator Hawley. He noted the ongoing debate surrounding these issues happening currently in Congress.

Tien leads off by saying when he was nominated, he knew that the mission was to “safeguard and protect our homeland.” After noting the great work that the border patrol people do on a daily basis, Tien doubled back on the “enforcing our nation’s laws” point being his main mission.

The closest he got to answering Hawley’s question was, if confirmed, Tien vowed to look at all the “options on the table” with regards to that particular matter.

Senator Hawley noted how Biden’s nominee wasn’t willing to give a definitive answer. So he asked Tien again. Once more, the response was the “I’d enforce our nation’s laws” line.

Hawley tried to get a grasp on the slippery direction of the conversation. He reframed the initial question through the lens of it being a “policy matter.” It didn’t work, Tien fell back on the “I’d enforce our nation’s laws” rebuttal.

The indirect answers to Senator Hawley are par for the course when it comes to the Biden administration’s ongoing border crisis. Something that in the past even Biden’s Press Secretary was out of sync on, when it came to the President’s thinking. With record numbers of incoming migrants at the US - Mexico border for March and April, one of the White House’s solutions for recourse is “fighting climate change,” according to Vice-President Harris.

So we’re left with AOC selling Abolish ICE t-shirts, while thousands of migrant kids sit around in filthy conditions at facilities like Fort Bliss.