WASHINGTON — Inform us one thing we don’t know, Joe.
President Biden informed reporters Friday that the US-Mexico border is just not safe — contradicting Homeland Safety Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas — after endorsing “huge modifications” in immigration coverage.
“No, it’s not,” Biden stated when requested whether or not the frontier was safe following remarks to a bipartisan group of mayors within the White Home East Room.
Throughout his speech, the 81-year-old Biden stated he hoped for Senate negotiators to announce a compromise subsequent week on border coverage as a part of a broader $106 billion supplemental spending request that will additionally finance navy help for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
“I imagine we’d like important coverage modifications on the border, together with modifications in our asylum system to make sure that we now have the authorities we have to management the border. I’m able to act,” the president stated.
“Now the query is for the [House] Speaker [Mike Johnson] and the Home Republicans: Are they able to act as properly?” Biden added.
“They’ve to decide on whether or not they need to resolve an issue or hold weaponizing the problem to attain political factors in opposition to the president. I’m prepared to resolve the issue. I actually am,” he added. “Large modifications, and I imply it sincerely.”
It’s unclear what asylum coverage modifications might be palatable to all three of the White Home, Senate Democrats and Home Republicans.
Present administration coverage permits almost all migrants who illegally cross the border to enter the US to await backlogged asylum proceedings, entitling them to work permits after an preliminary wait interval.
Quickly after taking workplace in 2021, Biden ended former President Donald Trump’s “Stay in Mexico” coverage, which required most asylum seekers to await their case rulings whereas remaining south of the border.
Mayorkas, whose Division of Homeland Safety administers border coverage, outraged Republicans within the spring of final yr by repeatedly claiming “the border is safe” as file numbers of foreigners crossed illegally.
Regardless of apparently disavowing Mayorkas’ claims, Biden defended his DHS chief when requested about Home Republican efforts to question and take away him, telling reporters Friday that “I don’t get it.”
Biden expressed willingness to get robust on unlawful immigration as polls present dismal approval rankings for his dealing with of the migrant disaster after December noticed an all-time excessive in unlawful crossings, capping a record-breaking calendar yr.
“I like how I turned on [TV] and, ‘Biden is for a free and open border, simply tear down all the pieces — everyone come, no restrictions,’” the president sarcastically remarked throughout his speech.
Biden additionally defended his file, together with by citing reform laws he despatched Congress in 2021 that will legalize most migrants at the moment within the US illegally, in addition to noting an October request for extra border safety funds after fiscal yr 2023, which ended Sept. 30, additionally noticed an all-time file for illegal crossings.