Fox News contributor Erick Erickson on Sunday suggested that President Barack Obama had made immigration problems in the United States worse by releasing Taliban members in exchange for former prison of war Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.
During a segment on Fox News, host Tucker Carlson asked Erickson if it made sense to provide $250 million in aid to countries in order to stop thousands of immigrant children from "taking advantage of our liberal immigration policy."
Because more than 47,000 immigrant children entered the United States since October of 2013, the U.S. government announced last week that it would send $100 million in aid to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to help reintegrate deportees. Another $161 million would be set aside for the Central American Regional Security.
"They claim the bulk of the problem from these Central American countries is gang violence, and not having anything to do with the kids whose parents are working," Erickson explained on Sunday. "Problems they would equate to something in this country, but I'm not exactly sure how this would work."
"It seems like these countries have seen what we did in Afghanistan with Bergdahl and others, and they know that this president will pay the ransom demands," he opined.
Carlson argued that it was "honest" to claim that Obama administration saw a flood of immigrant children as a "good thing."
"Never let a crisis go to waste," Erickson agreed. "I think they do see it as a good thing. If not for these as voters then certainly to mobilize a voting base."
"We've seen in the run-up to November, Democrats making a case for the president, that Republicans will get him because he's black," he added. "Now, this is a way to mobilize the Hispanic base."
