By Colleen Long —
The Associated Press
President Joe Biden made controversial claims over the weekend about “closing the border” between the United States and Mexico, as he seeks to get Congress to approve an immigration deal to unlock more aid to Ukraine.
The agreement had been in the works for months and seemed on the verge of approval in the Senate before it began to fall apart, largely because Donald Trump, the Republican favorite heading into the general elections, does not want it to happen.
“A bipartisan bill would be good for America and would help fix our broken immigration system and allow quick access to those who deserve to be here, and Congress needs to do it,” Biden said over the weekend.
Several migrants are detained by US border officials while crossing from Mexico, on Wednesday, January 3, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. Eric Gay / AP
“It would also give me, as president, emergency authority to close the border until it could be brought back under control.
“If that bill became law today,
I would close the border right now and fix it quickly
,” he added.
But what did Biden really mean and what is at stake for immigrants, the country and the general election?
Where does Biden's tough speech come from?
Biden wants to continue helping Ukraine against the Russian invasion.
Senate Republicans had initially said they would not approve more money for that cause unless it was combined with an agreement to manage the border.
As the talks have progressed, Biden has expressed his support for reaching a bipartisan agreement on border security after years of stagnation in the review of the immigration system.
But his claim that he would close the border “right now” if Congress approved the proposed deal
has more to do with politics than actual border laws.
The president is trying to disarm criticism of his management at the border, at a time when immigration has become an issue of increasing concern to voters on the eve of the presidential elections.
Would the border with Mexico really be closed under an agreement?
No. Trade would continue, and people who have US citizenship and legal residents would continue to come and go.
Biden is referring to a removal authority that lawmakers are negotiating that would automatically take effect on days when illegal crossings exceeded 5,000 on a five-day average across the southern border, which currently sees up to 10,000 crossings daily.
The authority suspends reviews for a possible granting of asylum for those who cross illegally.
Immigrants could continue to apply at ports of entry until the number of crossings fell below 3,750 a day.
But these are estimates;
The final count has not yet been finalized.
There is also an initiative to change the way asylum cases are processed.
Currently, a case takes several years to resolve and, in the meantime,
many migrants are released into the country to wait
.
Republicans believe that this is a reason that motivates more migrants to come to the United States.
The goal would be to reduce the time it takes to reach a resolution to six months.
The requirements for immigrants to apply for asylum in the first place would also be raised.
Currently, the standard is broad so that potential asylum seekers are not excluded, but critics say the system is abused.
Didn't Trump also threaten to close the border?
Yes, Trump promised to completely “close” the US-Mexico border, including to trade and trafficking, in an effort to force Mexico to do more to stem the flow of migrants.
However, he did not comply.
However, the speech was harshly criticized by Democrats, who described it as draconian and xenophobic.
The closest the former president came was during the pandemic, when he used emergency authorities to severely limit asylum.
But trade and traffic continued.
Biden's recent similarities to the former president, who had long maintained that Trump's border policies were inhumane, reflect growing public concern about illegal immigration.
But the president's stance threatens to alienate progressives who already believe he has moved too far to the right on border policies.
Does Biden have the authority to close the border?
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Trump ally and critic of the proposed deal, argued that presidents already have enough authority to stop illegal border crossings.
Biden could, in theory, sharply limit asylum claims and restrict crossings,
but the effort would almost certainly be challenged in court
and would be much more likely to be blocked or sharply reduced without a congressional law supporting the new changes.
“Congress needs to act,” declared White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
“You must act.
“President Johnson and Republican representatives should provide the government with the necessary policy changes and funding.”
Will the immigration agreement be achieved?
The outlook is bleak.
The core of senators negotiating the agreement expected to publish a detailed text this week, but conservatives have already indicated that the measures are not enough to limit immigration.
Republican Senator Johnson sent a letter to colleagues on Friday aligning himself with hardline conservatives determined to scuttle the deal.
The Speaker of the House noted that, if the leaked reports were true, the legislation would have “died as soon as it reached the House.”
Senate chief negotiator James Lankford, R-Okla., explained on Fox News Sunday that after months of pushing border security and clamoring for a deal tied to aid to Ukraine, “when we're finally reaching the end ”, Republicans seem to be saying, “'Oh, just kidding, I don't really want a change in the law because of the presidential election year.'”
Trump is reluctant to give Biden a victory on an issue that animated the Republican's successful campaign in 2016 and that he wants to use in his attempt to return to the White House.
The former president was clear on Saturday.
"I will fight until the end.
Many of the senators try to say, respectfully, that they blame me.
I say it's fine.
Please blame me.
Please,” he said.
What have been the Biden Government's measures at the border?
Biden's support for the legislative framework highlights how the Administration's attempts to enact broader immigration reform have been stymied.
On his first day in office, Biden sent a comprehensive immigration proposal to Congress
and signed more executive orders than Trump.
Since then, he has taken more than 500 actions, according to a tally by the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute.
Migrants walk along the border between Mexico and the United States on January 3, 2024 at Jacumba Hot Springs, in San Diego, California.Getty Images
His Administration's approach has been to combine new humanitarian pathways for migrants with border crackdowns, in an effort to discourage them from making the dangerous journey on foot to the US-Mexico border and encourage them to travel by plane with a sponsor.
Some policies have been successful,
but the number of crossings has continued to increase.
He has also tried to give a more regional character to the issue, taking advantage of his foreign policy experience to negotiate agreements with other countries.
Biden's allies considered that the changes regarding asylum are part of the repressive measures and that is why they have been receptive to the proposals.
But they have resisted attempts to strip the president of his ability to grant “humanitarian parole,” that is, allowing immigrants into the United States in special cases during global emergencies or unrest.