President Trump announced several months ago that his administration would be implementing a zero-tolerance policy regarding illegal border crossings. New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio is finding out that zero-tolerance means there are no exceptions.
According to reports, the mayor traveled to Texas, accompanied by New York state law enforcement, and attempted to enter a facility which was holding individuals who illegally crossed the border near El Paso, Texas.
The group was denied entry.
Then things get a little weird. From Associated Press:
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and his security detail violated both Mexican and U.S. immigration laws by crossing the border on foot during a visit near El Paso, Texas, U.S. Customs and Border Protection alleges in a letter obtained by The Associated Press.
De Blasio went to a holding facility for immigrant children but was denied entry. He then went to Mexico and crossed into the U.S. to get a view of the facility. The New York Police Department runs de Blasio’s security detail.
According to the letter, a uniformed Border Patrol agent noticed a group on the Rio Grande River flood plain south of the Tornillo, Texas, Port of Entry, taking photos of the holding facility. The agent asked if anyone from Border Patrol or public affairs was there to authorize their presence. A New York Police Department inspector said no, according to the letter, and when the agent asked the group how they arrived, they pointed to Mexico.
The agent told them they’d crossed the border illegally and asked them to remain there while he got a supervisor and took them to an official crossing for an inspection per federal law, according to the letter. But the group disregarded the order and drove back to Mexico, according to the letter.
BREAKING: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and violated both Mexican and U.S. immigration laws, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
— Ryan Saavedra 🇺🇸 (@RealSaavedra) July 11, 2018
The Daily Caller reports Eric Phillips, the mayor’s spokesman, claimed the mayor’s group did not break federal immigration law and, instead, were authorized to be there.
“The mayor crossed the border with the direct approval and under the supervision of the border patrol supervisor at this port of entry,” Phillips said, per the report. “Any suggestion otherwise is a flat-out lie and an obvious attempt by someone to attack the Mayor because of his advocacy for families being ripped apart at the border by the Trump Administration.”