On Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time,” CNN host and Washington Post columnist Fareed Zakaria argued that President Joe Biden should “end the asylum system as it exists,” because “we’ve lost control of the system.” And that former 2024 Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump “had the right idea” when he pushed Mexico to have stronger security on their southern border. But that “Biden’s actually not doing a bad job” because he’s deported more people than Trump.
Zakaria said, “So, first, I think it’s important to understand that the system has totally broken down. We used to have a system where people came in, and they were illegal, and okay, they managed to get in, but if you were caught, you were sent back. Now what a lot of these people…are doing is, they come in illegally, and they say, I’m applying for asylum, which means you’re not coming illegally, you are now entitled to two court hearings, which take several years to happen. You’re entitled to stay in the country while the court hearings are being adjudicated. And, by the way, about one out of every four slip into the country. So, the whole system — people are gaming the system. I don’t blame the migrants coming in…they’ve figured out this is the most effective way to get in. But it means we’ve lost control of the system. So, what I’ve been saying is President Biden should say, we’re stopping this process now. Asylum was meant, as you said, for a handful of people who faced personal political persecution.”
He added, “So, we need a whole new system, and the problem we have here is, there’s a pretty obvious rational solution to our immigration issues: do more border enforcement, end the asylum system as it exists, create a new one, increase skilled immigration, which we need, we’re at a 50-year low in unemployment. We need skilled immigrants.”
Later, TIME columnist and Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer stated that “Trump also was willing to play hardball with the Mexicans on the southern border of Mexico, and that was important, right? Because they’re not coming from Mexico, they’re coming through Mexico. It’s a relatively narrow border.”
Zakaria responded, “That’s the place he should have built the wall. He had the right idea, the wrong border.”
Zakaria added, “Biden’s actually not doing a bad job. They have deported more people — if you think that’s right, and I do, because you want a system of laws, right? They have deported more people under the Biden administration than Trump did. They’ve been harder line. The problem for Biden is — this is a problem for Democrats — you can’t take credit for it, because then you’re going to outrage — the progressive wing is going to go nuts. And so, even the things he does, it’s like stealth enforcement.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett