Biden slammed for accusing GOP of point scoring on immigration as illegal ... trends now
President Joe Biden has accused Republicans of trying to score 'political points' on immigration as the number of illegal border crossings hit another all-time high.
Speaking at the US Conference of Mayors on Friday, Biden chastised the GOP for failing to pass his immigration reform proposals, saying: 'They found it a better issue to campaign on than an issue to solve.
The president added: 'So, we have a choice: They can keep using immigration to try to score political points, or we can help solve the problem.'
Republicans, however, have pinned the blame on Biden for doing away with Trump-era border policies as illegal immigration runs rampant at the US-Mexico border.
And hours after Biden's speech, Customs and Border Protection revealed that there were 251,487 migrant encounters at the border in December, bringing the latest three-month total up to 717,600.
Joe Biden claimed Republicans were trying to score 'political points' on immigration as the number of illegal border crossings reached record numbers in December
The latest figures showed that there were 251,487 migrant encounters at the border last month
December's number was up more than 7 percent from November, and nearly 29 percent from the previous year.
Last month saw a surge in illegal immigration due to the uncertainty over Title 42, a Trump-era policy that has expelled migrants at the border since the start of the pandemic.
Migrants' haste to cross with Title 42 in place may seem contradictory, because the policy makes it easier for the US to expel undocumented migrants.
But many anticipated that the lifting of it would make crossing even more difficult, at least temporarily, due to increased migrant numbers and military presence at the border.
A Biden administration official told Fox News that the surge was allegedly caused by GOP officials' criticisms of the president and warnings that failed policies effectively left the border open for exploits.
'Of course the numbers will be higher when Republican elected officials, like smugglers, falsely proclaim the border is open because of a court order to lift Title 42,' the officials said.
'Despite their misinformation, our border enforcement measures continue to hold strong,'
