Biden NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby gave a withering answer to Fox News White House Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich when she asked if taking in migrant burn victims “risk incentivizing more of this kind of behavior?”

A fire at a Mexican government-run migrant detention center in Ciudad Juarez killed at least 40 people and injured many more, and according to Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador was the result of protest fires that got out of hand.

At Wednesday’s White House briefing, Kirby joined White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre to field questions from reporters, and was asked about the fire.

Kirby told one reporter it was “tragic what happened to these individuals. And a lot of grieving families here as a result of that. And certainly, should Mexican authorities need any support or assistance from us, we would happily provide it.”

He added the tragedy illustrates the need for immigration reform.

Later in the briefing, Heinrich — whose network has long focused on border issues — asked Kirby if taking in injured migrants risks creating some kind of incentive, and Kirby delivered a curt reply:

JACQUI HEINRICH: That we are going to be creating just one follow John, on the migrant tire question. Customs and Border Protection said that they’re going to be granting parole to some of these fire victims so they can enter the US illegally and receive emergency medical care. But since the Mexican president said that this fire did start as part of a protest when the migrants heard that they were going to be deported, is allowing them into the U.S. now on an expedited basis. Does that at all risk incentivizing more of this kind of behavior?

JOHN KIRBY: This is about trying to take care of some folks that badly burned and and really hurt, and we know we can help them. That’s what this is about, Jacqui.

Watch above via C-SPAN.

The post WATCH: Biden Spox Gives Withering Response to Fox Reporter Who Asks If Taking In Migrant Burn Victims Risks ‘Incentivizing’ first appeared on Mediaite.

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