President Biden is expected to issue an executive order by Tuesday related to the ongoing crisis at the southern border, an issue that could become a major issue in the 2024 presidential election and has Republicans saying it’s too little, too late.
Biden administration and border officials confirmed to Fox News that the executive action is expected to be announced by Tuesday, before Biden leaves for Normandy.
It’s unclear what the plan will contain, but some media outlets have reported it could include a mechanism to block additional migrants from entering the US if the seven-day average of daily arrests exceeds 4,000.
Mayorkas says some migrants ‘trying to exploit asylum system’ as border remains top political issue
President Biden talks with a U.S. Border Patrol agent while walking along the U.S.-Mexico border fence in El Paso, Texas, on January 8, 2023. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
The mechanism would likely be similar to one proposed in a comprehensive bipartisan Senate bill unveiled earlier this year that has the backing of the Biden administration but has not garnered enough support to pass the Senate. The bill would allow Title 42-style expulsion powers to allow agents to quickly remove migrants at the border.
Biden may attempt to exercise his authority through executive orders using Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows the president to restrict foreign nationals from entering the United States.
Former President Trump used Section 212(f) multiple times during his presidency but was unable to use it to restrict border crossings and his attempts were thwarted by legal challenges. President Biden would almost certainly face similar challenges if he were to take similar measures.
Mass apprehensions of illegal immigrants from China, Jordan and Türkiye at southern border
The president is not scheduled to visit the southern border before leaving for Europe next week, officials said.
The Biden administration has repeatedly said it has little to offer when it comes to fixing what it calls a “broken” immigration system and has repeatedly called on Congress for additional reforms and funding. In a statement to Fox News Digital on Monday, the White House said it “continues to consider a range of policy options and remains committed to taking action to address our broken immigration system.”
“Republicans in Congress have no interest in securing our border or fixing our broken immigration system. If they did, they would have voted for the toughest border security in history. Instead, they have put partisan politics above our national security,” a White House spokesman said.
President Biden walks along the US-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, on January 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnick, File)
“While Republican lawmakers have chosen to stand in the way of increased border security, President Biden will not stop fighting to provide Border Patrol and immigration agents with the resources they need to secure our border.”
Republicans have criticized the administration’s policies, including the reversal of Trump-era policies such as the wall, the Migrant Protection Protocols and increased domestic law enforcement. They have passed a bill in the House of Representatives that would significantly restrict asylum applications and reinstate border wall construction and similar measures. The Senate has yet to take up the bill.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Fox News Sunday that Biden’s reported actions were “too little, too late.”
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“He’s now desperately trying to show the American people that he wants to deal with the problems he created,” he said.
“We’ve documented 64 specific executive actions taken by President Biden and Secretary of Homeland Security Mayorkas to open the border over the course of three and a half years, from Day One of President Biden’s term in office. Why? They did it intentionally, and it has had a devastating impact on our country that we will live with for decades to come,” he said.
Meanwhile, the illegal immigration crisis appears to be emerging as a major issue in the election: A recent Fox News poll found that the crisis on the southern border was the second most important issue for voters, with 69% of respondents saying they were dissatisfied with Biden’s border management.
Trump won in 2016 largely on his plan to resolve the southern border issue, but Biden’s critics say Trump failed to address it adequately.
But encounters with migrants have fallen in recent months from a record high of more than 200,000 people encountered in December.
There were 179,725 encounters at the southern border in April, compared with 211,992 in April 2023 and 189,357 in March.
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But the administration has taken a tougher stance on the crisis, with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas recently saying some migrants are trying to “game” the system.
“The reality is that some people will try to game the system,” Mayorkas said. CBS News We said last month, “That’s not true for everyone we encounter, but there are elements of it and we deal with it accordingly.”
