By The FirstFormer President Barack Obama sat down with Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts and the discussion quickly came to the migrant crisis in Del Rio and the need for immigration reform.
“Immigration is tough. It always has been because, on the one hand, I think we are naturally a people that wants to help others,” Obama told Roberts. “And we see tragedy and hardship and families that are desperately trying to get here so that their kids are safe, and they’re in some cases fleeing violence or catastrophe.”
“At the same time, we’re a nation state. We have borders. The idea that we can just have open borders is something that … as a practical matter, is unsustainable,” Obama added.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, migrant encounters at the southern border are at a 20-year high, with more than 200,000 encounters logged in the month of August, alone.
Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas says the administration has a plan for “safe, legal and orderly pathways for migrants,” but the recent chaos under the International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas has many questioning his strategy.
