(NewsNation) — What’s really happening at the U.S.-Mexico border?
The answer to that question likely depends on which partisan news network you’ve been watching. CNN and MSNBC will tell you the influx of migrants arriving at the southern border is just the Republican Party trying to stir fear and outrage.
If you watch Fox News or another conservative outlet, they’ll tell you the situation at the border is about President Joe Biden and Democrats wanting to let anyone and everyone into the country.
On an hourlong special edition of “Dan Abrams Live” on Friday, Abrams is joined by two former directors of ICE under both Barack Obama and Donald Trump to cut through the political talking points about the border and let the numbers and facts speak for themselves.
In 2019, just over 977,500 migrants crossed the southern border and were allowed to stay in the United States under Title 8. In 2020, that figure dropped to just over 253,000 when Title 42 was enacted to expel large numbers of migrants at the border.
The numbers jumped again in 2021, when 671,160 migrants crossed the border. This year, the numbers took a serious leap; over 1.1 million migrants have crossed the southern border.
John Sandweg, former ICE Director under Obama, said it does a disservice to border policy to place blame on an increase in migrants on one administration or politician. But he does believe the Biden administration has said the wrong thing about the border at times.
“There certainly were some misstatements at the beginning of the administration. If you asked (Homeland Security) Secretary (Alejandro) Mayorkas or the White House if they could take some of their statements back that they made in the initial days, I think they would,” Sandweg said.
Abrams, Sandweg and Ron Vitiello, former ICE deputy director under Donald Trump, also take a look at how the immigration process works, legal battles surrounding immigration and how sanctuary cities impact immigration.
The full episode of “Dan Abrams Live” can be viewed in the video above.