KJP fumbles hard when Fox News reporter confronts — and then fact-checks — her false narrative about recent migrant deaths



White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stuck to the narrative — not the facts — the Biden administration parroted after three migrants drowned last Friday while attempting to cross the Rio Grande.

After the tragedy, the Biden administration rushed to blame Texas for the incident. Homeland Security, for example, accused Texas National Guard soldiers of having "physically barred" Border Patrol agents from responding to migrants in distress. The White House, on the other hand, suggested the migrants could have been saved had Texas soldiers not "blocked U.S. Border Patrol from attempting to provide emergency assistance."

But the Justice Department admitted in a filing to the Supreme Court on Monday that the migrants — two children and an adult woman — had already drowned when Mexican officials alerted Border Patrol agents of the tragic deaths. In fact, they had been dead for at least one hour.

On Wednesday, Fox News correspondent Jacqui Heinrich confronted Jean-Pierre over the White House's dishonest narrative. She asked, "Will the administration amend its separate statement that implied that Texas officials were responsible for the deaths of those three migrants when, in fact, they had nothing to do with it?"

"They had already been dead for an hour by the time Mexico told anyone in the U.S. about it, and the administration admitted as much in their court filing," Heinrich noted. "But the statement from the White House implies that Texas was responsible, and a number of outlets were forced to issue corrections and editor's notes because of that White House statement."

The falsehood exposed, Jean-Pierre responded by urging Heinrich to be "sensitive" because of the "devastating situation." But then she refused to acknowledge the truth after repeatedly stumbling over her thoughts.

"Our statement is consistent with DOJ’s filing. As the DOJ filing said, there was an ongoing emergency situation that Border Patrol was blocked from accessing. There were other migrants in the water as well," she responded.

"That was separate, though. The ongoing emergency situation was separate," Heinrich fact-checked.

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The Fox News reporter then read Jean-Pierre the White House statement — which said that "Texas officials blocked U.S. Border Patrol from attempting to provide emergency assistance" — but the press secretary simply restated her earlier point.

"There were other migrants in the water as well," she said.

"Then why wasn't that included in the statement?" Heinrich shot back.

And when Heinrich asked if the statement was referring to those "other migrants" — which it clearly was not because it was released in direct response to the drownings — Jean-Pierre shut down questioning and referred additional questions to the DOJ.

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Justice Department finally tells the truth after Biden administration attacks Texas following tragic migrant deaths



The Department of Justice admitted in a new court filing that Texas National Guard soldiers did not block Border Patrol agents from saving migrants who eventually drowned in the Rio Grande last Friday.

On Saturday, the Biden administration accused Texas National Guard soldiers of having "physically barred" Border Patrol agents from responding to migrants-in-distress. The suggestion implicit in the accusation is that the migrants could have been saved had the Texas soldiers, in the words of the White House, not "blocked U.S. Border Patrol from attempting to provide emergency assistance."

But the Justice Department admitted in a filing to the Supreme Court that the migrants — two children and an adult woman — had already drowned when tried to enter the Shelby Park area, the area of riverfront that Texas seized control of last week.

The court filing explains:

On January 12, 2024, at approximately 9:00 p.m., Mexican officials advised Border Patrol of two migrants in distress on the U.S. side of the river in the area near the Shelby Park boat ramp. Mexican officials also informed Border Patrol that three migrants — one woman and two children — had drowned at approximately 8:00 p.m. in the same area.

This is a significant admission that undermines the accusations and suggests the Biden administration was dishonest in its accusations.

Importantly, the government's own admission, filed by Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar (D), corroborates what the Texas Military Department said about the incident, namely that "claims that TMD prevented Border Patrol from saving the lives of drowning migrants are wholly inaccurate."

Mexican officials, meanwhile, recovered the bodies of the deceased migrants and confirmed that the migrants never entered U.S. territory.

Still, the DOJ attempted to intimidate the Supreme Court.

"It is impossible to say what might have happened if Border Patrol had had its former access to the area," Prelogar wrote in the filing.

What is clear, however, is that Border Patrol agents would not have been able to save the migrants because they unfortunately had already drowned when Mexican authorities alerted their U.S. counterparts of the tragedy.

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Texas officials set the record straight after White House claims Border Patrol was 'physically barred' from saving migrants



Texas authorities are fiercely pushing back against accusations that they blocked Border Patrol agents from helping three migrants who eventually drowned in the Rio Grande.

Two migrant children and one migrant women drowned late Friday as they attempted to enter the United States near Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas, an epicenter of the migrant crisis. That is the riverfront that Texas seized control of last week, arguing the federal government was not sufficiently enforcing immigration law.

Despite the tragedy, Democrats and the Biden administration quickly played the blame game. They claimed Border Patrol agents tried to respond to the migrants-in-distress but couldn't because Texas National Guard soldiers blocked them.

"In responding to a distress call from the Mexican government, Border Patrol agents were physically barred by Texas officials from entering the area," a Homeland Security spokesperson claimed. "The Texas governor’s policies are cruel, dangerous, and inhumane, and Texas’s blatant disregard for federal authority over immigration poses grave risks."

The White House also claimed that Texas soldiers "blocked U.S. Border Patrol from attempting to provide emergency assistance."

But the Texas Military Department is disputing these claims.

The TMD confirmed Border Patrol contacted them about the migrants-in-distress, but the migrants were never located despite National Guard soldiers having "actively searched the river with lights and night vision goggles." That's because the migrants were located on Mexico's side of the river.

The agency explained:

At no time did TMD security personnel along the river observe any distressed migrants, nor did TMD turn back any illegal immigrants from the US during this period. Also, at no point was TMD made aware of any bodies in the area of Shelby Park nor was TMD made aware of any bodies being discovered on the U.S. side of the border regarding this situation.

Importantly, the Biden administration and anyone blaming Texas for contributing to the deaths or for blocking Border Patrol agents have provided no evidence to corroborate their claims.

The lack of evidence forced the TMD to release another statement on Sunday forcefully denying the claims.

"Claims of Border Patrol requesting access to save distressed migrants are inaccurate," TMD said. "Claims that TMD prevented Border Patrol from saving the lives of drowning migrants are wholly inaccurate."

According to the agency, the migrants had already died and Mexican authorities had already recovered their bodies when Border Patrol learned about the distressed migrants — facts TMD said that Border Patrol agents themselves relayed to Texas National Guard soldiers. Border Patrol did not request access to the park to help the migrants, but "to secure two additional migrants that were presumed to have traveled with the deceased," TMD said.

Mexican officials, meanwhile, confirmed that the deceased migrants never entered U.S. territory.

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GRAPHIC: Remains of 5 Migrants Found in Texas County 80 Miles from Border

Deputies in Brooks County, Texas, recovered the remains of five migrants in the past month who died while attempting to circumvent the Falfurrias Border Patrol Checkpoint located about 80 miles north of the border.