Pres. Joe Biden Slammed for Securing Tajikistan's Border While U.S. Border in Crisis
President Joe Biden is facing another round of criticism after he decided to help Tajikistan secure a portion of its border with Afghanistan despite the ongoing crisis at the U.S. border.
In a press release Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe said it has launched a project to construct new facilities for a Border Service detachment along the Tajik-Afghan-Uzbek border. The embassy said it would allow Tajikistan's border troops to deploy more quickly in response to threats in the region.
Joe Biden's decision to secure the border of Tajikistan, while the U.S. southern border is still in turmoil due to the thousands of migrants coming into the country daily disappointed the border agents who worked in the front lines.
The agents said the U.S. southern border is still not secure. Border sources who spoke to Fox News in anonymity noted that the Biden administration's priorities were misplaced.
One senior border official said it was "just too bad" that the Biden administration is getting serious about border security in another country, while there were nearly a million encounters at the southern border.
One agent said the move was like "a slap in the face." Another border agent noted that Joe Biden has already destroyed Afghanistan, so the borders do not need to be open.
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Republicans Disappointed Over Joe Biden's Move to Strengthen Tajikistan Border
Republicans were also quick to criticize the president's move. Republican Representative Paul Gosar tweeted that Joe Biden's decision to secure the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border but not the U.S.-Mexico border "is preposterous."
We’re hitting levels of America last that shouldn’t even be possible. Biden securing the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border but not the U.S.-Mexico border is preposterous. https://t.co/JKiaVgRxVA
— Rep. Paul Gosar, DDS (@RepGosar) September 2, 2021
Representative Jim Jordan tweeted that the Biden administration secured the Tajikistan border, but not the southern border. In another tweet, Jordan said the southern border is still wide open for illegal immigrants.
The Biden Administration secured the Tajikistan border. But not the southern border of the United States.
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) September 2, 2021
Can’t make it up. https://t.co/EXZwXLl8fr
The Daily Mail reported that even U.S. immigration think tanks and groups also criticized Joe Biden's move. Mark Krikorian, executive director of Center for Immigration Studies, said, "maybe Tajikistan can spare a few border guards to send to Texas."
Jake Bequette, who is running for Arkansas Senator John Boozman's Senate seat, said Joe Biden "cares more" in securing the border of Tajikistan than "the border here at home."
According to the embassy, the new facility will be built in Tajikistan's southwestern tip. It will replace an outdated detachment and allow border guards to deploy forces more quickly to border areas.
In its statement, the embassy said the first phase of the project would focus on the facility's design. The project is scheduled to break ground in early 2022. Tajikistan has pledged to accept 100,000 Afghan refugees escaping from the Taliban.
The embassy noted that since 2002, the U.S. government has provided over $300 million in security-sector assistance to Tajikistan, and renovated or rebuilt 12 border outposts, nine border checkpoint facilities, and three training centers for border guards.
Migrants in the U.S. Southern Border
The U.S. has already recorded hundreds of thousands of migrant encounters across the southern border. In mid-August, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said around 212,672 migrants were encountered at the southern border in July.
The record marked a 13 percent increase over the 188,000 migrant encounters in June. The DHS secretary further noted that 95,788 of the more than 212,000 encounters were expelled through the Title 42 heath protection by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
This article is owned by Latin Post
Written By: Joshua Summers
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