Andrew Cuomo calls Biden's open-border policy 'a mistake,' admits 'southern states were right' about migrant crisis

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) blamed the migrant crisis on President Joe Biden's (D) failed open-border policies and admitted that the "southern states were right," the New York Post reported.

On Wednesday's episode of Cuomo's podcast, "Matter of Fact," he blasted Biden for opening the southern border without first implementing a plan to handle the influx of migrants entering the United States.

Cuomo accused Biden and his administration of failing to understand the "consequences of enacting those promises," referring to Biden's reversal of restrictions enacted by former President Donald Trump (R).

In August, the Biden administration ended Trump's Migrant Protection Protocols program, which required illegal migrants to return to Mexico while waiting for their immigration proceedings.

"It was a mistake for President Biden to open the border without having a plan to handle the tremendous flow of people," Cuomo argued. "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."

The former governor noted that he still did not support officials from the southern border states busing migrants to sanctuary cities. However, Cuomo acknowledged that the migrant crisis is a "federal problem" and a "federal responsibility."

"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 admitted.

Cuomo also criticized current New York Governor Kathy Hochul for not doing enough to support New York City and Mayor Eric Adams regarding the wave of migrants entering the city.

Since last spring, 43,000 migrants have entered New York, the Post reported. Approximately 28,400 migrants have taken shelter in 83 NYC hotels, five relief centers, and the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.

Cuomo argued that Hochul's administration should have distributed migrants equitably across the sanctuary state.

"New York City should never have accepted responsibility on its own. The mayor should have said that New York state needed to handle the problem," Cuomo stated.

"State officials and legislators all proclaim they support immigration," he added. "So let them now accept the responsibility. Talk the talk, now walk the walk, house them in your neighborhood."

After criticizing the Biden administration's open-border policies, Cuomo applauded the president's plan allowing Cubans, Nicaraguans, Haitians, and Venezuelans to be quickly deported from the U.S. and returned to Mexico.

Cuomo argued that the federal government should step up aid to Central American countries, which he stated could help reduce the number of migrants attempting to enter the U.S.

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