President Biden vows to “close the border” if Congress approves the bipartisan immigration deal that he says would give him the “emergency authority” needed to stem the years-long migrant surge.
Biden said in a Friday news release later posted on social media that the border security measures, which are tied to a Ukraine aid package the GOP opposes, would be “the toughest and fairest set of reforms.” to secure the border we've ever had.” as a country.”
“For too long we all know the border has been broken,” the president said. “It's time to fix it.”
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President Biden speaks during a meeting with his reproductive rights task force to commemorate the 51st anniversary of the Roe v. Wade, in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington DC. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
“What has been negotiated, if signed into law, would be the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border that we have ever had in our country,” Biden said. “It would give me, as president, new emergency authority to close the border when it becomes overwhelmed. And if I am given that authority, I would use it the day I sign the bill.”
In the White House statement, Biden urged lawmakers to provide funding to help Ukraine that was requested in October, which would include funding for 1,300 additional U.S. Border Patrol agents, 375 immigration judges, 1,600 asylum and more than 100 inspection machines to help prevent fentanyl smuggling into the United States.
It would also increase visas by 250,000 and strengthen green card eligibility.
“For all those calling for tougher border control, this is the way to do it,” Biden said. “If you're serious about the border crisis, pass a bipartisan bill and I'll sign it.”
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More than a thousand migrants wait to enter the United States from Juárez, Mexico. (Fox News Digital/Jon Michael Raasch)
Hours earlier, House Speaker Mike Johnson wrote a letter to his Senate colleagues stating that legislation addressing the border and aid to Ukraine has no future in the House if Republicans feel it doesn't do what enough to address the record number of illegal immigrants. cross into the United States.
“I wanted to offer a brief update on the supplement and the border, since the Senate seems unable to reach any agreement. If the rumors about the content of the draft proposal are true, it would have been dead on arrival in the House anyway ” Johnson wrote. “Many of our constituents have asked an important question: 'What is the point of negotiating new laws with an administration that will not enforce the laws already in place?'”
Johnson suggested the GOP was not interested in negotiating the bill because Biden has failed to enforce illegal immigration laws already in place.
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“I am emphasizing again today that House Republicans will vigorously oppose any new policy proposals from the White House or Senate that would further incentivize illegal aliens to violate our laws,” Johnson said.
Biden's claim that the bill was necessary to give him the authority to close the border received notable pushback from conservatives, who pointed to a range of powers currently at his disposal to stop hundreds of thousands of migrants from arriving in the United States. Joined.
“There is no need to pass laws,” billionaire Elon Musk, owner of social media platform X, responded to Biden's announcement. “All that is needed is an executive order requiring proof before granting an asylum hearing. That's how it was before.”
Just this week, Border Patrol agents near El Paso, Texas, captured 40 migrants involved in two human smuggling operations as the border reached its highest rate of migrant encounters last month, surpassing previous statistics.
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Immigrants arrive en masse in Eagle Pass, Texas, waiting to be processed. (FoxNews)
Customs and Border Protection sources told Fox News Digital that encounters with migrants reached a staggering 300,000 incidents in the last month of 2023, reaching a level that was thought unimaginable just a few years ago.
Between December 1 and December 31, more than 302,000 migrants were documented attempting to cross the southern border of the United States.
It is the highest total ever recorded in a single month. It is also the first time that immigrant encounters exceed 300,000.
Fox News Digital's Louis Casiano and Brie Stimson contributed to this report.
