Former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker told Newsmax Monday that what's happening at the U.S.-Mexico border is a "complete policy failure," regardless of what most media outlets are saying.
"I'm very disappointed in the coverage of most of the media — Newsmax excluded — that is suggesting that it's not as chaotic as expected, and so, therefore, somehow that's a victory," Whitaker said during an appearance on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "I mean, this is a disaster at our southern border. It's a complete policy failure, it's an intentional policy failure by the Biden administration.
"There were ways to stop this from ever happening, but the courts are not the way," he continued. "The district courts that are issuing these temporary relief orders are not the place where we can stop what's happening in Texas and Arizona and other places."
As the policy used to expel migrants, Title 42, was lifted last week, a Florida federal judge ruled that asylum seekers must have a formal notice to make an appearance in immigration court before they are released from U.S. Border Patrol custody.
Border Patrol had been releasing some migrants into the United States without providing them with a formal order to appear to avoid overcrowding detention centers while paperwork was processed.
The Biden administration stopped releasing people without a notice to appear after Florida challenged an earlier version of the policy. Border Patrol issued a revised policy last week, leading Florida to return to court to bar the agency from releasing migrants without a court notice.
When asked what happens when the temporary order from the Florida judge expires, Whitaker said court dates for migrants are a long way off.
"In some places, the hearings aren't happening for 10 years," he said. "I mean, the immigration courts are overwhelmed. The DOJ, we ran those courts, and we kept surging judges and I know that the Biden administration claims they're going to do the same; however, if you don't also surge ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] attorneys, it's really a Band-Aid on a major problem."
Commenting on the border security bill passed by House Republicans last Thursday, Whitaker said he was surprised the measure wasn't more bipartisan.
"Democrats have chosen this hill as one that they're going to die on, unfortunately," he said. "It's harming the American people, and I hope that when the next election comes, those that are being dramatically impacted by the chaos on our southern border in every state remember who brought this to them."
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