White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki sparred with Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy once again, this time to explain to him that state governors do not have the right to put immigrants on a bus and ship them out of state.
Doocy—son of Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy—referred to a remark by Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott, who in a recent statement targeting the Biden administration's immigration policies said he would be “providing charter buses to send these illegal immigrants… to Washington, D.C.”
Psaki stressed no governor has "the legal authority to compel anyone to get on a bus."
You can watch their interaction in the video below.
Doocy, appearing to take Abbott's statement at face value, asked:
“Now that the Texas governor is saying that he’s going to start busing border crossers to Washington, D.C., when they get here, are you guys going to help them find a place to stay and something for them to do?”
Doocy's statement implied that the Biden administration, which has a more liberal view on immigration policy than Abbott, is hypocritical for not responding to immigrants on an individual basis.
Psaki said that she is "not aware of what authority the governor would be doing that under," noting that "it's pretty clear" that Abbott's statement is a publicity stunt and adding:
"His own office admits that a migrant would need to voluntarily be transported and that he can’t compel them to. Because again, enforcement of our country’s immigration laws lies with the federal government, not a state.”
When the coy Doocy asked Psaki if she doesn't "think people want to visit Washington, D.C.," Psaki shut the conversation down:
“Well, listen, I don’t know, but I know that the governor of Texas or any state does not have the legal authority to compel anyone to get on a bus."
Psaki is no stranger to Doocy's lines of questioning and many praised her for her response.
Immigration has long served as one of the linchpins for Abbott's extensive criticisms of the Biden administration and the Democratic Party at large.
Last year, Abbott accused President Joe Biden of creating a “constitutional crisis” after the Department of Justice (DOJ) sued him over an executive order targeting the transport of migrants recently released from United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody.
