Spokesman Jay Carney had no comment Friday afternoon about how the White House would respond to the online petition to have Canadian pop star Justin Bieber deported.
"That process will occur, as is our commitment," he said. "There will be a response when the threshold is crossed. That response will come, I'm sure, relatively soon. I don't have one now. On, you know, matters related to visas, I refer you to DHS."
There were more than 223,000 signatures on the petition to remove Bieber from the country, as of 2 p.m. Friday afternoon.
Full exchange:
PETER ALEXANDER: The White House petition that says that Americans would like to see Justin Bieber deported and his Green Card revoked -- (laughter) -- has now reached 222,000 --
JAY CARNEY: I just want to note that people go back and look at what the questions NBC's asking here. I'm going to follow the coverage.
ALEXANDER: (That is ?) not what my email was about. (Laughter.) I was copied on --
CARNEY: Reid is right. Yeah.
ALEXANDER: But obviously, after 100,000 the White House administration is supposed to have a prompt reply, so we request yours.
CARNEY: Well, that process will occur, as is our commitment. There will be a response when the threshold is crossed. That response will come, I'm sure, relatively soon. I don't have one now. On, you know, matters related to visas, I refer you to DHS.