The Biden administration is reportedly considering options to reduce the flow of unlawful migrants through executive action after Republicans blocked a bipartisan defense bill that included border policy changes and funding.
A statement from the White House by spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández accused Republicans of rejecting the security bill over political motivations, as reported by the Associated Press.
Now, according to the publication, the White House may be considering making moves without Congressional approval. However, Hernández emphasized that “no executive action, no matter how aggressive, can deliver the significant policy reforms and additional resources Congress can provide and that Republicans rejected,” per AP.
“Congressional Republicans chose to put partisan politics ahead of our national security, rejected what border agents have said they need, and then gave themselves a two-week vacation,” the statement from Hernández read.
As reported by The Dallas Express, the failed bill would have allocated just $20 billion to border security while sending more than $60 billion in taxpayer funds to Ukraine. Senate Republicans had called for sweeping changes to U.S. policy to reinstate programs that were in effect during former President Donald Trump’s administration.
In February, ahead of the vote on the failed spending bill, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson called on Biden to invoke his powers as president to reinstate policies that would not require Congressional votes, a move the administration has previously claimed to be impossible.
“The White House’s insistence that ‘the President has done everything that he can on his own’ to secure the border is an insult to the American people,” Johnson’s spokesperson Raj Shah said in a statement reported by The Hill. “In fact, it has been this administration’s policies –- that President Biden can reverse –- that have led to the historic crisis we are seeing on a daily basis.”
Trump applied a section of immigration law commonly known as 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act that gives the president the power to shut down the borders. Trump’s actions were heavily criticized in the media, and several efforts were blocked by the courts, AP reported.
According to recent polls by Bloomberg and Morning Consult, as reported by The Center for Immigration Studies, immigration has become a top concern for voters and could be a determining factor in the November elections.
The poll found that voters in seven key swing states trust Trump to handle border security more than Biden by a 52% to 30% margin. Controlling immigration has become a priority even for Democrats, as the numbers of unlawful migrants have swelled in many Democrat-led cities, and the impact on the community has become more clear. The poll found that 43% of Democratic voters believe immigration “hurts the economy,” compared to 42% who say it “helps the economy.”
It is not clear what steps the Biden administration is considering to quell unlawful migration. Unnamed sources referenced by AP News reportedly only suggested that the White House is considering what actions an executive order could contain, with the publication noting that any approach would need to be able to withstand the inevitable legal challenges.
NBC News reported that three administration officials with knowledge of the discussions believe the administration is seeking to make it more challenging for people to claim asylum and to increase the number of newly arrived unlawful migrant deportations.
The statement from Hernández indicates that the administration is now reversing course on immigration but that nothing has been finalized, and any action is still weeks away.