Biden admits ‘broken’ immigration system in meeting with governors as migrants mass-released in California

President Biden admitted on Friday the U.S. immigration is “broken,” just hours after Fox News cameras on the ground in the San Diego area captured a mass release of migrants by the Border Patrol. 

The Border Patrol bus released approximately 200 migrants onto the streets in San Ysidro, who were then handed over to a nongovernmental organization (NGO) for help.  

“Congress has had a long, proud history – a bipartisan history — on immigration reform and abiding by our international treaty obligations, which we signed related to immigration. These reforms made America a nation of laws, a nation of immigrants and the strongest economy in the world,” Biden said to members of the National Governors Association at the White House. “But something changed. Over time, our laws and our resources haven’t kept up with our immigration system, and it’s broken. And our politics has failed to fix it.” 

The White House has called on Republicans to back a bipartisan Senate bill that would have increased staffing and resources at the border while limiting the ability of migrants to claim asylum and providing additional funding to communities and NGOs receiving migrants. However, conservatives have said the bill does not go far enough and would normalize high levels of illegal immigration.  

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President Biden speaks to the National Governors Association during an event in the East Room of the White House on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (AP/Evan Vucci)

Biden described the bill Friday as representing the “most fair and humane reforms in a long time.” 

“I didn’t get everything I wanted in it. It also included the toughest set of reforms to secure the border ever in history. The Border Patrol chief himself said, ‘we need more people. We need more agents on the line,’” Biden said. 

“Our bipartisan bill got the Border Patrol the agents they need. It funded and hired 1,500 more agents and officers, 100 more immigration judges, 4,300 more asylum officers to get asylum decisions in months instead of years,” he continued. 

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION WEIGHS EXECUTIVE ACTION ON BORDER CRISIS, DRAWING FIRE FROM LEFT AND RIGHT 

Migrants are mass released into the San Diego area on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. (Fox News)

“But then, as we all know, petty politics intervened. The speaker of the House has refused to vote on the bill, even though, again, there’s significant support,” Biden added. “Talk to your Republican colleagues, there are the votes on that floor to pass that bill. All of a sudden, people started to go silent, but they’re in a tough spot. Tell that to the Border Patrol that we can’t get this done.” 

Biden concluded his remarks by telling the governors that “doing nothing is not an option.” 

Migrants are encountered by Border Patrol in the San Diego sector on Feb. 17. (Fox News)

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“So if this matters to you, it matters to your state, tell your members of Congress that are standing in the way — show a little spine,” he said. 

Fox News’ Adam Shaw and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.