President Joe Biden said in an exclusive interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos his message to migrants is "Don't come over."See also:
Amid a surge of migrants and unaccompanied minors on the U.S. southern border, Stephanopoulos asked the president, "Do you have to say quite clearly, 'Don't come'?"
"Yes, I can say quite clearly: Don't come over," Biden said during the wide-ranging interview in Darby, Pennsylvania. "Don't leave your town or city or community," he added.
The number of unaccompanied teens and children who have been taken into U.S. custody along the U.S.-Mexico border has shot up in recent weeks, as the number of migrants attempting to cross into the country increases.
Republicans have said Biden's moves to rescind former President Donald Trump's harsh immigration policies have encouraged migrants to come to the United States, but Biden told ABC News that "we're sending back people" who cross the border.
Stephanopoulos asked Biden: "Was "a mistake not to anticipate this surge?"
"First of all, there was a surge in the last two years," the president said. "In '19 and '20, there was a surge, as well."
Stephanopoulos noted, "This one might be worse," and Biden acknowledged, "Well, it could be."
"The idea that Joe Biden said, 'Come' -- because I heard the other day that they're coming because they know I'm a nice guy," Biden said. "Here's the deal, they're not," he said.
Irish government ministers are warning would-be St Patrick's Day revelers that they should use water, not booze, as their tipple of choice when celebrating the national holiday. And if they really want to be patriotic in the pandemic, better still to stay home while toasting Ireland's patron saint.For weeks now governments throughout the EU have been leading the public on with promises of a 'road map' out of lockdown, but now, lockdowns are yet again being reimposed in a suspiciously coordinated fashion, amidst the experimental mass vaccination campaigns, over claims of a 'third wave':
It's likely that Irish politicians haven't and won't forfeit an alcoholic drink: Irish ministers resign after violating coronavirus rules at golf dinner - day after signing lockdown legislationSpeaking on Irish radio on the eve of the holiday, Minister of State Patrick O'Donovan urged people to "drown the shamrock with water" this year. Health officials fear alcohol consumption will lead to a breakdown in social distancing and more people gathering in larger groups, increasing the spread of the virus.© Reuters /Clodagh KilcoyneFILE PHOTO: St. Patrick's Day celebrations in Dublin before Covid.
People also tend to be less anxious, talk more openly and for longer periods when they're having an alcoholic drink; one can imagine that certain pathological politicians would prefer to avoid this.
The minister also criticized the fact that sales of alcohol in shops and supermarkets - Ireland's pubs have been shut for most of the past year due to Covid-19 restrictions - had not been curtailed in the lead-up to the March 17 holiday, or during lockdown periods in general.
The solution to that would be to let pubs open, but, instead, the minister appears to be warming up to a South Africa style total ban on alcohol sales.
"We didn't deal with it as a country, and I'm very critical of the way in which we didn't do this," O'Donovan said. "It was a massive failure because we didn't deal with it before Christmas and I think we paid a very dear price for it."
On December 13, Ireland recorded the lowest virus rates in Europe. A month later, following a relaxation of lockdown rules over Christmas, it recorded the highest number of confirmed cases per million of population anywhere.
Ireland has recorded over 227,000 coronavirus cases over the past year and 4,534 Covid-related deaths. Last year's St. Patrick's Day celebrations were canceled as people were told to practice social distancing and not to gather in big groups, and Ireland entered its first strict lockdown two weeks later.
O'Donovan's sentiments were echoed by Ireland's higher education minister, Simon Harris, who served as health minister for the first months of the pandemic.
"What I would suggest tomorrow - the most patriotic thing people can actually do in terms of our national battle against Covid-19 - is stick to the public health advice," Harris said, adding the government wants to be able to issue a roadmap out of lockdown restrictions in the next two weeks.
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