Former White House senior adviser Jared Kushner condemned treating migrants as “political pawns” Thursday on Fox News following the flights to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
Kushner called it “troubling” to witness the migrants being used as “political pawns” when they enter the U.S and took a swipe at both political parties.
“I personally watch what’s happening and it’s very hard to see at the southern border, I also, we have to remember these are human beings, they’re people, so seeing them being used as political pawns one way or the other is very troubling to me,” he told Fox News’ “Outnumbered.”
The White House, along with activists, have accused Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis of staging a “political stunt by” sending 50 migrants to the upscale New England island. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre have used both those terms repeatedly during press briefings. (RELATED: Rep. Maria Salazar Goes Ballistic On Fox News: Joe Biden Is The One Using Immigrants ‘As Pawns’)
Taryn Fenske, a spokesperson for DeSantis, said in a statement received Tuesday by the Daily Caller that the migrants voluntarily chose to board the two planes chartered to Massachusetts. The Florida governor also confirmed Friday that the migrants voluntarily traveled to the upper-class New England island.
Kushner then touted the immigration policies of former President Donald Trump’s administration which, he said, secured the border and kept the migration flow under control. He described the horrific conditions and “modern day slavery” that several migrants are forced into along their journey to the U.S.
“I do think if you go back to the time under President Trump, we had the lowest border crossings in history when he turned over the administration and the border was secure, it was very safe. And people don’t talk enough about the fact that these people are lured into these journeys by the coyotes. They’re paying a lot of money, I think 80 percent of women are sexually assaulted along the way. They come into America, they don’t have papers, many of them are exploited into human trafficking and modern slavery in a lot of ways. So, it’s a very sad situation.”
Kushner blamed President Joe Biden’s administration for reversing or not enforcing several Trump-era policies, including the “Remain in Mexico” policy, for the current surge in migration which has surpassed 2 million since October 2021, the beginning of the 2022 fiscal year.
Migrant encounters have more than doubled since President Joe Biden assumed office in January 2021, according to CBP data. Agents apprehended a total of 458,088 migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border in the 2020 fiscal year. Encounters then surged to 1.7 million in 2021, the first year of the Biden administration.