President Joe Biden may take executive action to clamp down on the southern border crisis, even though he has repeatedly insisted he is unable to do so without Congress’ blessing.
Biden may take such action ahead of his State of the Union address on Mar. 7, which he hopes to use as an opportunity to overcome concerns about his fitness for the presidency, Axios reported on Monday. Biden and the White House have insisted multiple times since October he needs Congress to first give him the power to start addressing the crisis, and blamed House Republicans for stonewalling a supplemental bill that he alleges would have given him such authority.
The Biden administration sent its supplemental funding request to Congress in October to address a variety of issues, including international aid, military spending agreements and border security funding. The White House said in October that Republican congressional members need to “stop playing games with border security” and sign off on Biden’s request.
“Let me be clear: We need real solutions. I support real solutions at the border,” Biden said during a press conference on Dec. 6. “I’ve made it clear that we need Congress to make changes to fix what is a broken immigration system, because we all know it’s broken.”
“Republicans have to decide if they want a political issue or if they want a solution at the border. Do they really want a solution? It cannot be sustained as it is now,” Biden said.
Biden repeated his call in January for Congress to pass a supplemental that would provide international aid and funding for border security. The Senate released such a bill roughly a week later that included $60 billion in aid to Ukraine, $14.1 billion in aid to Israel and $20 billion for a border security package.
“What’s been negotiated would – if passed into law – be the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we’ve ever had in our country,” Biden said on Jan. 26. “It would give me, as President, a new emergency authority to shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed … If you’re serious about the border crisis, pass a bipartisan bill and I will sign it.”
“I’ve done all I can do. Just give me the power. I’ve asked from the very day I got into office,” Biden said during a press gaggle on Jan. 30.
The bill died in the House. The Senate passed an amended version of the supplemental that kept in international aid but stripped border security funding, and it is now on the House whether to pass it or not.
The bill was widely criticized by Republican congressional members who felt it prioritized Ukraine over U.S. national security and didn’t do enough to address the southern border crisis. Several Border Patrol agents previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the bill had too many holes and wouldn’t stave off the illegal immigration crisis, because it still allows for catch-and-release into the country and does not mandate the construction of a border wall.
Biden claimed in February that if the bill did not pass Congress, the American people would blame Republicans and former President Donald Trump for the border crisis, as Trump was highly critical of the bill and advised congressional members against voting for it.
“If the bill fails, I want to be absolutely clear about something: The American people are going to know why it failed,” Biden warned during remarks on Feb. 6. “Every day between now and November, the American people are going to know that the only reason the border is not secure is Donald Trump and his MAGA Republican friends.”
Biden and his team hope to leverage his State of the Union address on Mar. 7 as a chance to erase concerns about his mental and physical health and promote his accomplishments as president, according to Axios. Concerns about Biden’s health were furthered after the Department of Justice (DOJ) special counsel advised in February against charging Biden for his retention of classified documents because he would present to the jury as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
Biden already has used his authority to make decisions on the southern border before; on his first day in office in January 2021, Biden signed a flurry of executive orders to reverse several Trump administration border policies, including nullifying deportation initiatives and halting the construction of the border wall.
Biden’s reputation is suffering because of the immigration crisis; 73% of Democrats disapprove of Biden’s handling of the southern border crisis, a higher number than any other time during his presidency, according to Politico.
Illegal immigration surged quickly after Biden took office; there were roughly 1.7 million migrant encounters at the southern border in 2021, and that number rose to over 2 million in 2023, according to Customs and Border Protection data. There were 851,508 migrant encounters at the southern border in 2020, Trump’s last year in office.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Jake Smith on February 19, 2024
