US President Joe Biden compared the illegal immigrants at the southern border to Jews fleeing Nazi Germany during World War II during a press briefing about border security and enforcement on Thursday evening.
A reporter asked Biden if he thinks that migration is a human right. He replies, "Well, I think it is a human right if your family is being persecuted. I thought it was a human right for, you know, Jews in Germany to be able to go - to get to escape and get help where they could."
Behind Biden stood Vice President Kamala Harris, nodding in agreement with what the president was saying.
He then went on to say that Americans have basic fundamental rights to make sure that asylum seekers don't have criminal backgrounds.
"Well, I think it is a human right if your family is being persecuted. I thought it was a human right for, you know, Jews in Germany to be able to go - to get to escape and get help where they could."
US President Joe Biden
"The people in this country have basic rights - that are here - basic fundamental rights to assure the people who are coming have been checked out," he said. "They're not criminals. They're not the problem. They're - you know, that their background checks are real."
Biden's remarks sparked attention on social media platforms
"Biden just compared illegal aliens - lawbreakers who have been found to be terrorists, drug dealers and bad actors - to Jews fleeing Germany during the Holocaust," Rep. Andy Biggs wrote on his Twitter. "Not even remotely the same situation. This kind of mindset prevents us from legitimately securing our border."
Biden just compared illegal aliens—lawbreakers who have been found to be terrorists, drug dealers, and bad actors—to Jews fleeing Germany during the Holocaust. Not even remotely the same situation. This kind of mindset prevents us from legitimately securing our border.
— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) January 5, 2023
Stephen Miller, former senior adviser to former US president Donald Trump, took to his Twitter, saying, "Comparing Haitians leaving Haiti or Nicaraguans leaving Nicaragua to Jews fleeing violent extermination from Nazi Germany is both an outrageous minimization of the Holocaust and a vile slander of Latin American nations. Biden will say or do anything to expand illegal immigration."
Comparing Haitians leaving Haiti or Nicaraguans leaving Nicaragua to Jews fleeing violent extermination from Nazi Germany is both an outrageous minimization of the Holocaust and a vile slander of Latin American nations. Biden will say or do anything to expand illegal immigration. https://t.co/iqgqmLnSxv
— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) January 5, 2023
Biden is supposed to visit the southern border city of El Paso, Texas on Sunday, for the first time in two years, to meet with local officials and discuss the enforcement operations on the US-Mexican border.