Biden begs Congress to pass border bill: ‘Toughest and fairest set of reforms’
President Biden urged lawmakers on Friday to move forward with a contentious proposal to combat record levels of illegal border crossings under his administration, calling it the “toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we’ve ever had in our country.”
The deal tying $61.4 billion in aid to Ukraine with increased border security measures is seemingly dead on arrival in the Senate – and is staunchly opposed by several congressional Republicans – despite months of negotiations between the White House and a bipartisan group of senators.
“For too long, we all know the border’s been broken,” Biden, 81, acknowledged in a statement. “It’s long past time to fix it.”
“Let’s be clear. What’s been negotiated would – if passed into law – be the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we’ve ever had in our country,” the president argued.
The text of the already languishing bill has yet to be revealed, but the president teased details of what’s been agreed to in his pleading letter.
“It would give me, as President, a new emergency authority to shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed. And if given that authority, I would use it the day I sign the bill into law,” Biden said.
“Further, Congress needs to finally provide the funding I requested in October to secure the border. This includes an additional 1,300 border patrol agents, 375 immigration judges, 1,600 asylum officers, and over 100 cutting-edge inspection machines to help detect and stop fentanyl at our southwest border.”
The president described the pending legislation as “a win for America.”
“For everyone who is demanding tougher border control, this is the way to do it, he argued. “If you’re serious about the border crisis, pass a bipartisan bill and I will sign it.”
Some Senate Republicans immediately slammed Biden’s statement.
“If this deal has already ‘been negotiated,’ why can’t senators see it?” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) wrote on X. “‘Democracy dies in darkness.’”
“Or Biden could stop pretending this is anyone’s fault but his own and ENFORCE THE LAW,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) tweeted. “He opened the border. He can close it.”
Some of the tentative bill’s other provisions, obtained by The Post from a source Thursday, include continuing to allow migrants who fly into the country to receive humanitarian parole at designated airports, while restricting the practice at the border and US ports of entry; granting legal counsel to unaccompanied migrant children under the age of 13 and migrants deemed mentally incompetent; and increasing in immigrant visas to 50,000 annually.