President Biden on Monday issued permits to several Texas cities allowing them to “expand and continue to maintain” border crossings.
Biden’s order affects the Texas cities of Laredo, Eagle Pass and Brownsville, which include border crossings across the Rio Grande River that allow vehicular and pedestrian traffic between the United States and Mexico.
The permit previews Biden’s plans for the border, with him expected to issue a series of executive orders on the issue this week.
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.
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President Biden on Monday issued permits to several Texas cities allowing them to “expand and continue to maintain” border crossings. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The plan would likely be similar to one proposed in a comprehensive bipartisan Senate bill released earlier this year, which has the backing of the Biden administration but has so far failed to garner the support needed to pass, that would create Title 42-style expulsion powers that could quickly remove migrants who cross the border.
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Biden may seek to enforce such power through executive order, using Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows the president to restrict entry of foreign nationals into the United States.
President Biden is expected to issue a series of executive orders regarding the border this week. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
The Biden administration has repeatedly said it has little power to fix an immigration system that it calls “broken,” and the White House has called on Congress for further reforms and funding.
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.
Migrants wait to be removed and processed by U.S. Border Patrol agents at the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas. (John Moore/Getty Images)
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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, said on “Fox News Sunday” that Biden’s reported actions were “too little, too late.”
Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
