AZ Rep. Biggs invites Karine Jean-Pierre to visit border amid migrant controversy

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FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., on Thursday invited White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre to visit the southern border — after Jean-Pierre sparked outrage from Republicans and border agents by falsely claiming that illegal immigrants aren't just "walking" across the U.S.-Mexico border.

"Your recent comments during a White House press briefing on August 29, 2022, demonstrate your disregard of the nation’s border crisis," Biggs said in a letter to the White House, obtained by Fox News Digital. "That’s not surprising given that neither you nor President Biden have ever visited the southern border."

Jean-Pierre was asked on Monday why migrants are allowed to illegally enter the U.S. without being vaccinated for COVID-19 but an unvaccinated foreign national traveling on a plane is not.

"Somebody unvaccinated comes over on a plane. You say that's not OK. Somebody walks into Texas or Arizona unvaccinated, they're allowed to stay? Why?" Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked at the White House press briefing.

WHITE HOUSE CLAIMED PEOPLE AREN'T ILLEGALLY ‘WALKING’ ACROSS BORDER, FOOTAGE SHOWS THE OPPOSITE

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., on a visit to the border near Yuma, Arizona. (Courtesy of Rep. Andy Biggs)

"But that's not how it works," Jean-Pierre said.

"That's what's happening," Doocy said. "I know that's not what you guys want to happen. But that is what is happening."

"But that's not — it's not like somebody walks over," Jean-Pierre responded.

Jean-Pierre went on to outline what the administration had done in terms of the border, including cooperation with Western Hemisphere countries at the Summit of the Americas and a sweeping anti-smuggling operation — contrasting it to what she said was the prior administration’s focus on building a wall. She also touted funding for the Department of Homeland Security, including Customs and Border Protection, that was included as one part of the 2022 omnibus spending package that President Biden signed into law earlier this year. (Biggs has called for more border wall construction and was one of a number of Republicans who voted against the omnibus spending bill, citing the $1.5 trillion overall package’s impact on the deficit.) 

"It is not that simple. It’s not just that people are walking across the border," Jean-Pierre said. "We have a plan in place."

Her remarks contrasted sharply with footage showing migrants in the hundreds walking across the border, and sparked pushback from Border Patrol agents who have witnessed hundreds of thousands of migrants walk across — or attempt to evade them — each month.

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Biggs, in his letter, said that Jean-Pierre’s remarks "couldn’t be further from the truth" and noted that the COVID-19 vaccination status of the illegal immigrants who are processed and released into the U.S. is often unknown.

BORDER PATROL AGENTS SLAM KARINE JEAN-PIERRE'S ‘IGNORANT’ CLAIM THAT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS NOT ‘WALKING’ ACROSS

"Given that most of these individuals are migrating from countries with low COVID-19 vaccination rates and are traveling in large groups — something that defies Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance — it is safe to assume that COVID-19 is rampant among illegal aliens crossing our southern border," he wrote.

Biggs, co-chair of the Congressional Border Security Caucus, then invited Jean-Pierre to visit the border in his state of Arizona.

"If these facts are not convincing enough, I would like to extend you an invitation to participate in a border tour along the Arizona-Mexico border with me," he said. "You will see that unvaccinated illegal aliens are undeniably crossing our nation’s southern border at unprecedented rates."

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Jean-Pierre clarified her remarks on Wednesday, when she outlined the process by which migrants are processed and often released into the U.S. if they are not expelled via Title 42 public health protections.

"Migrants who attempted to enter the country illegally are taken into custody by Border Patrol agents. That is how it works," she said. "That is the process that we are taking. They are then either expelled by the court order under Title 42, transferred to ICE custody or monitored through Alternatives to Detention Program as they await further processing."