Fox News’ Peter Doocy pushed back on White House press secretary Jen Psaki during Monday’s briefing, asking about overcrowded migrant facilities at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Doocy noted there were facilities holding 400 migrants despite only having the official capacity to hold 260, and he challenged Psaki to suggest another place in the country where that might be acceptable. (RELATED: ‘Definitely Not’: Illegal Immigrant Says He Wouldn’t Have Crossed The Border If Trump Was President)
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Doocy began by asking whether or not there was any concern that the overcrowded facilities would become a super-spreader event for coronavirus.
“These kids are tested. If they need to be quarantined, they’re quarantined,” Psaki replied, insisting the administration was following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines to ensure safety at the facilities. “One of the reasons that it took us some time to have some of these facilities or some of the shelters open to a larger groups of kids because we wanted to follow those CDC guidelines. So we certainly don’t see it through that prism. We actually took the steps needed to keep these kids safe.”
“But where else in the country would it be OK to have 400 people in a space for 260 during the pandemic?” Doocy pushed back.
“Again. Peter, are we are closely following the CDC guidelines,” Psaki said again. “That’s why we’re opening up additional facilities, why they’ve been at limited capacity in a number of the shelters.” (RELATED: Photos Show Kids Inside Pods At Biden Border Facility)
Doocy pressed again, saying that he wasn’t aware of any CDC guidelines that would allow for 400 people in a space with a capacity of 260.
Psaki continued to defend the administration, adding, “This is one of the reasons this is such a focus every single day for the president and this administration. We want to move these kids as quickly as possible through these facilities and into the shelters where they — where there is safe spacing and then move them into homes where there is safe spacing and we are concerned about the public health impact. That’s why we’re to putting in place a number of policies to expedite these processes.”
“But at that first stop, it’s just not happening,” Doocy replied. “That is part of the federal government that you guys are in charge of.”