CNN released a statement Wednesday night defending host Kaitlan Collins after she hosted a town hall for former President Donald Trump in New Hampshire — his first interview on the network since 2016.

“Tonight Kaitlan Collins exemplified what it means to be a world-class journalist,” the network said. “She asked tough, fair and revealing questions. And she followed up and fact-checked President Trump in real time to arm voters with crucial information about his positions as he enters the 2024 election as the Republican frontrunner. That is CNN’s role and responsibility: to get answers and hold the powerful to account.”

"… to arm voters with crucial information about his positions as he enters the 2024 election as the Republican frontrunner. That is CNN’s role and responsibility: to get answers and hold the powerful to account."

— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) May 11, 2023

Collins appeared to have a decent start while pressing the president about some of his claims surrounding the 2020 presidential election and the January 6, 2021, riot, but she quickly lost control of the event.

Collins’ much-criticized performance came as news broke that CNN CEO Chris Licht was reportedly set to announce that the 31-year-old would be offered a new contract to serve as host of the network’s 9 p.m. primetime hour, which was previously occupied for years by former CNN host Chris Cuomo.

The report from Puck News said that Collins’ performance tonight is not expected to impact the offer that CNN is about to make her, but cautioned that with Trump, anything is possible.

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Puck News reported that the announcement is expected to take place in the coming days and would cap off Collins’ fast rise through the network from her time as a White House reporter who often got under the skin of former President Donald Trump to become a fresh face for the network’s primetime lineup.

The Biden administration will reportedly direct Border Patrol agents to release illegal migrants into the U.S. with minimal processing and little oversight.

The administration is preparing a memo for Border Patrol agents that would direct them to release migrants into the U.S. interior without assigning them a date in an immigration court or coming up with a plan to track them, according to NBC News. The move comes as the administration struggles to contain a growing surge of illegal immigration prompted by the court-ordered repeal of Title 42.

“We’re already breaking and we haven’t hit the starting line,” one DHS official told NBC News. The U.S. hit a record on Tuesday, tallying more than 11,000 migrant apprehensions at the border in a single day.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) called the strategy “unacceptable.”

“Instead of enforcing U.S. immigration laws, Biden is enabling mass catch and release,” Abbott tweeted. “America is a nation of laws. This must end.”

Unacceptable!

Biden admin plans to allow for the release of some migrants into the U.S. with no way to track them.

Instead of enforcing U.S. immigration laws, Biden is enabling mass catch and release.

America is a nation of laws. This must end. https://t.co/ruogHkR5PS

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) May 11, 2023

A representative with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told NBC that the memo would only apply to illegal immigrants who have been vetted for safety.

“As Republican and Democratic administrations alike have done in the past to protect the safety and security of Border Patrol agents and migrants in the event of severe overcrowding conditions, U.S. Border Patrol sectors may consider releasing certain migrants who have undergone strict national security and public safety vetting to continue their immigration processes,” the representative said.

“This may include processing migrants for parole to reduce the amount of time they spend in custody. Each parole will be considered on an individualized case-by-case basis, and individuals who are released will be required to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and undergo removal proceedings in immigration court,” DHS continued. “Individuals may be placed into an Alternatives to Detention program to ensure compliance, if deemed appropriate. The targeted use of parole will allow Border Patrol to focus its resources most effectively to quickly process and remove individuals who do not have a legal basis to remain in the country.”

Tracking and compelling illegal migrants to appear for immigration trials has been a serious problem for immigration authorities. In 2017, immigration courts reported that migrants failed to appear at their court hearing after being set free in the U.S. 43% of the time.

In addition to releasing migrants into the country, the Biden administration is also reviving a Trump-era immigration policy that President Joe Biden was critical of during the 2020 election. The Biden administration finalized a rule in the Federal Register on Wednesday that disqualifies migrants from applying for asylum in the U.S. if they neglected to first apply for asylum in other countries they traveled through, such as Mexico.

Biden previously panned former President Donald Trump for the rule in 2020.

“This is the first president in the history of the United States of America that anybody seeking asylum has to do it in another country,” Biden said during the final debate of the campaign. “That’s never happened before in America.”