On Wednesday, former Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) criticized President Joe Biden over the ongoing crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Cuomo stated during an episode of his podcast “As a Matter of Fact...” that Biden made a mistake by altering border policy without proper consideration of the potential consequences.
He even went on to say that the southern states were justified in their warnings to Biden, not to undo the policies established by the previous administration under former President Donald Trump.
Cuomo said, “It was a mistake for President Biden to open the border without having a plan to handle the tremendous flow of people. President Biden had said he would do it in the campaign — but you can’t change a policy unless you have the program in place to manage the change.”
On this week’s episode Cuomo delved into the issues surrounding the U.S. southern border and the impact it is having on cities and states across the country. He met with two individuals who journeyed from Ecuador, who crossed the U.S. southern border and were eventually transported from Texas to New York City.
Cuomo’s remarks were not meant to challenge the Biden administration’s objectives in regards to immigration reform. Instead, he argued that the Biden team either did not anticipate or failed to address the outcomes of fulfilling their campaign promises.
The former governor also expressed disappointment in the border states that bused illegal immigrants to sanctuary cities in response to the crisis. However, he acknowledged that Biden’s border policies have imposed undue difficulties on these states.
“The southern states were right that opening the border created a tremendous hardship for them to handle. They were right that the federal government was not prepared,” Cuomo continued. “This is a federal problem. Immigration is a federal responsibility. … The border is not just the gateway for people, but for drugs. This is on top of a homeless problem that had already strained resources in urban areas.”
Cuomo added that his successor, Governor Kathy Hochul (D-NY), should have offered support when immigrants were transported to New York City, instead of leaving Mayor Eric Adams to handle the situation solo. He also showed support for Vice President Kamala Harris’ proposal to direct investments into Central American businesses in an effort to reduce the flow of illegal immigration at its origin.
See tweets below:
The current situation in 57th street in front of the Watson Hotel. A handful of migrants say they’d rather camp out here than go to the city’s “uninhabitable” shelter in Brooklyn. The migrants who’ve chosen to go to the shelter say it’s comfortable, warm and safe. @ABC7NY #NYC pic.twitter.com/dWpD2Q89ge
— Janice Yu (@JaniceYuNews) February 1, 2023
#NYC Watson Hotel
Dozens of #migrant are refusing to leave the hotel and go to the new shelter the @NYCMayor set up for them . The migrants state that the shelter looks like an ICE detention center. With the aid of activists, they set up camp in front of the Watson hotel pic.twitter.com/bf8wNVosqm— Viral News NY (@ViralNewsNYC) January 30, 2023
Andrew Cuomo served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. He was a member of the Democratic Party and followed in his father Mario Cuomo’s footsteps, who held the same position for three terms as the 52nd governor. However, in 2021, Cuomo stepped down from office due to multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. At the time of his resignation, he held the title of being the longest-serving governor in the country who was still in office.