Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) slammed President Joe Biden in a letter over the weekend for blocking the media from being able to see the crisis that is unfolding on the border, accusing the president of intentionally trying to prevent the American people from seeing the Biden administration’s “failures” on the border.
“This past Thursday and Friday, eighteen of my Senate colleagues and I visited the border and witnessed firsthand the staggering public health and humanitarian crisis caused by your policies,” Cruz wrote. “We understand the heartbreaking tragedy unfolding at the border because we were there. We saw it. But the American people are unable to see it because you remain intent on keeping the media from shining a light on your administration’s failures.”
Cruz said that reporters from across the country came to the facility when the Senators were there so they could report on what was going on, but they were blocked by the Biden administration. Cruz posted a video to social media on Sunday that allegedly showed a Biden administration official repeatedly trying to block him from taking pictures of migrants being crammed together in overcrowded facilities during a pandemic.
“They could not show the American people what it looks like when a tent city built to house 250 children under COVID restrictions instead houses 4,200,” Cruz wrote. “They could not show the American people cages after cages of little boys lying side-by-side, of little girls lying side-by-side, covered with reflective emergency blankets with virtually no space between them. They could not see the playpen of infants and toddlers brought here by human traffickers and then left alone. They could not see the row of children who, having just been crammed into the crowded cages, were now testing positive for COVID-19.”
Cruz noted that the reporters were not allowed to travel with the lawmakers when they went and saw a large number of migrants being kept under a bridge.
“The reporters and the cameras could not see any of this because you, President Biden, prevented it. I sent you a letter last week urging you to allow us to bring media with us,” Cruz said. “Not only did you refuse, you actively worked to prevent the American public from seeing what we saw. When I took pictures to show the American people the conditions at the Donna facility (after blurring all faces to protect the privacy of the individuals held there), a political appointee sent by your administration jumped in front of my camera to try to stop me from doing my job. She threatened another senator that if he did not delete his pictures, the entire delegation would be kicked out and prevented from conducting our constitutional oversight role.”
“This is outrageous,” the letter said. “The Trump administration allowed media into DHS facilities. So did the Obama administration, the Bush administration, and the Clinton administration. But you want to hide what is going on.”
Cruz urged Biden to “stop denying reality” and to “confront the consequences of your policies,” adding that the media should be allowed to accompany him during trips that he plans to make on Monday to other facilities that are housing migrants.