The White House continues to defend its response to a reporter’s question involving vaccine requirements for sports stars but not for illegals.
Although illegal immigrants are allowed to enter the United States without being tested or vaccinated for COVID-19, tennis star Novak Djokovic was not allowed to enter to play in this year’s U.S. Open. Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy asked the Biden administration about the apparent hypocrisy at a recent news briefing.
“How come migrants are allowed to come into this country unvaccinated but world-class tennis players are not?” he asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
“The U.S. government cannot discuss the details of individual visa cases,” she said. “Due to privacy reasons, the U.S. also does not comment on medical information of individual travelers as it relates to this tennis player.”
The idea that anyone from the Biden White House can say people are not walking over the southern border of the United States is either lying or ignorant.
Can we get a fact check on this one? Because today the White House just straight up lied. pic.twitter.com/6sYPCcIL1G
— Erin Perrine (@ErinMPerrine) August 29, 2022
Djokovic, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, will miss the U.S. Open over his refusal to get vaccinated. Jean-Pierre deferred the question to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which she said has its own protocols, saying, “It’s two different things.”
Doocy further pressed Jean-Pierre on remarks. “Somebody unvaccinated comes over on a plane, you say that’s not OK,” he said. “Somebody walks into Texas or Arizona unvaccinated, they’re allowed to stay?”
“That’s not how it works,” she said. “ It’s not like someone walks over.”
“That’s exactly what is happening,” Doocy said. “Thousands of people are walking in a day. Some of them turn themselves over. Some of them are caught. Tens of thousands a week are not. That is what is happening.”
Washington Times columnist Tim Young tweeted, “They could, at the very least, find someone who is better at lying for this job…”
They could, at the very least, find someone who is better at lying for this job… https://t.co/JIZ4zZBXzj
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) August 29, 2022
President Biden has been widely criticized for continuing to allow illegal immigrants to be released into border towns while displaying symptoms of the coronavirus, and the number of migrants infected with the virus has surged almost 1,000 percent in some border sectors.
Earlier this month, the CDC extended Title 42, a Trump-era policy aimed at limiting migrant entries into the United States, citing coronavirus concerns, but that policy does not apply to migrant children. Doocy and Jean-Pierre also sparred over the policy during their exchange.
“Why is there a CDC [vaccine] requirement for people who fly here as opposed to people who cross the border?” he asked.
“We have talked about Title 42,” Jean-Pierre replied. “There is a CDC provision for folks coming through the southern border. It is not just for tennis players.”
The White House also denied that illegal immigrants are walking across the border, even as news outlets pointed to thousands of news videos showing just that.
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice
