Dem Rep. Raul Ruiz Defends Biden, Blames GOP, Trump for Historic Border Crisis

EXCERPT:

RUIZ: "Well, there are efforts, and the programs that allowed for asylum claims to happen in their host countries, including for children, was eliminated and defunded by the Trump Administration. The Biden Administration has resumed those, including the ability, throughout the path or the journey, to start the process for any asylum claim. It’s very important to realize that these individuals who are stepping foot in the United States have the legal right to seek asylum and petition for asylum. So they are turning themselves in to the authorities to make their claim, and then they go through a process within the United States. It is their American legal right to seek asylum, and many of them are being persecuted, many of them are fleeing for freedom because they come from authoritarian regime nations. Many of them have had their agricultural systems devastated by hurricanes and are experiencing extreme hunger. Many of them are being threatened rape or murder if they don’t join a drug cartel or a gang in their host country. So, those are legitimate claims to seek asylum in our country. Now, the way we handle those is the different — you can see the difference between Republicans, who are putting their politics above the humanitarian claims and our own legal system, versus the Democrats, who are professionalizing and bringing humanity back to a system. But we also have to go after the drug cartels, and we have to go after the root causes, which President Biden is doing."