The White House announced Thursday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will soon be “forced” to reduce operations at the southern border due to a lack of funding.
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that because Republicans have not passed a bipartisan border security deal with funding for Israel and Ukraine, the administration is left with no choice but to withdraw from the border. He said no.
“ICE will be underfunded in the coming weeks as Congressional Republicans choose partisan politics over national security and refuse to pass a bipartisan national security agreement that includes major border reform and funding.” We will be forced to reduce our operations,” Jean-Pierre said. Air Force His One spoke during a talk.
“Every time we have asked Congress for additional funding and resources, Congress has either provided less than we asked for or, most recently, completely ignored our additional requests.” she said.
Senate to vote on funding for Israel, Ukraine as immigration deal comes under fire
Presidential Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during the daily press briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on February 6, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The announcement that ICE will scale back its enforcement operations comes as U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported more than 3.2 million encounters with illegal immigrants at the border, a record high.
Without additional funding, Jean-Pierre said, “ICE will be forced to reduce removal operations, overall detention capacity, etc.”
Sen.Rand Paul accuses Republican leadership of ‘dragging’ caucus to ‘void’ bipartisan border bill with Democrats
An aerial view of a group of migrants crossing rivers and barbed wire to walk toward the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, on February 1, 2024. The White House announced Thursday that ICE will be forced to scale back enforcement operations due to: Due to budget constraints. (Lokman Vral Elibor/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“National security and public safety are compromised if ICE is unable to conduct these operations. Speaker Johnson and Congressional Republicans must be held accountable. This was their choice,” she said. Ta.
The bipartisan border security bill that Jean-Pierre mentioned is being sponsored by Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Krysten Sinema (Ariz.), and Chris Mupley (D-Conn.). The bill was negotiated and has drawn pushback from more than 20 Republican senators since its passage. They argue that the releases will not stop historic levels of illegal immigrants entering the country. Some Democrats also oppose the bill, saying it would hurt immigrants seeking asylum.
Immigration hardliners warn Congress that Senate deal will handcuff future administrations on border security
Migrants wait to be processed at a U.S. Border Patrol transit center after crossing the border from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, on December 20, 2023. The number of migrants crossing the U.S. southern border has surged at the end of the year, overwhelming U.S. immigration authorities. (John Moore/Getty Images)
The border deal was tied to funding for Israel and Ukraine in an additional $118 billion national security package. The immigration portion of the bill includes increased asylum restrictions; president biden Power to suspend a bill on an emergency basis.
The emergency bill would introduce new three-year powers similar to the coronavirus-era Title 42, allowing authorities to block entry into the United States at the southern border.
This provision applies if there is a seven-day average of 5,000 encounters per day, or 8,500 encounters per day. Thereafter, DHS must deport all immigrants, except unaccompanied children, until the encounter rate decreases by at least 25% for seven consecutive days, ending its authority in 14 days.
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However, the bill provides that the President “may direct the Secretary to suspend the use of border emergency powers on an emergency basis if the President determines that it is in the national interest to temporarily suspend such powers.” are doing. Essentially, a “border emergency” that would be triggered at 5,000 border crossings per day within a week could be overturned by Biden.
House Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louis.), have declared the bill “void on arrival,” saying the 5,000-person-per-day passage threshold invites illegal immigration and is not a deterrent. argued that it was not.
Fox News’ Chad Pergram, Fox News Digital’s Jamie Joseph and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
