Speaker Johnson rails against Biden’s ‘weak’ border executive order

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) on Tuesday slammed President Biden’s executive orders on border security, calling them “weak” and “sham.”

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday morning, just before the executive order was announced, Johnson alleged that President Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had taken a series of actions “orchestrated an open border” during Biden’s time in the White House.

“The evidence is clear and now all of a sudden he’s trying to issue weak executive orders in the name of trying to address the problem. This is a sham move. We all know if he cared about the border he would have done this a long time ago.”

The order gives the White House additional authority to limit the flow of migrants at the southern border, allowing authorities to turn away migrants at the southern border if the seven-day average of border crossings between ports of entry exceeds 2,500 per day. The order is effective immediately.

Johnson suggested the order did not include some border security measures that Republican lawmakers have long sought.

“From what we’ve heard, this bill ignores multiple elements that must be addressed that were included in the bill that was passed over 14 months ago to fix our broken asylum system, fix our broken parole process, reinstate the Remain in Mexico policy and end the capture and release policies that they’ve been pushing,” Johnson said, referring to the Republican-led border enforcement bill that was passed more than a year ago.

The bill, titled HR 2, died when it was introduced in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

“No matter how short the time he [Biden’s] “What we’re trying to do here is not going to solve the problem. In fact, by some estimates, it may make it worse, because it will once again amplify the welcome message and encourage people to come. ‘Get in the first 2,500,’ that’s what we’re hearing. ‘The first 2,500 of the day,’ ensuring that when you come here illegally, you get a welcome package. It’s complete insanity.”

The Hill has reached out to the White House for further comment.

Johnson and other House Republicans have long called for the Biden administration to take executive action at the border, arguing that Biden’s policies have led to a flood of migrants entering the U.S. from the southern border.

In January, Johnson The office released a list of 64 cases. He argued in a statement that the Biden administration shows it is “weakening border security policies and encouraging illegal immigration,” a claim he made again on Tuesday.

President Biden and White House officials initially said it was up to Congress to pass border security measures, but lawmakers have been unable to pass a bipartisan bill on the issue. Conservative Republicans and former President Trump rejected a bipartisan border deal earlier this year.