Mexico border will be shut, says White House
Biden suggests that access from Mexico may be stopped if illegal crossings surpass 5,000 per day
THE US border with Mexico will be closed if illegal crossings surpass 5,000 in a day, under proposals announced by the White House.
Joe Biden’s plans, unveiled on Friday, would give the Department of Homeland Security the power to close the border if illegal crossings surpassed 5,000 in a day. Only legal ports of entry, staffed by US customs and border protection, would remain open.
“A bipartisan bill would be good for America and help fix our broken immigration system and allow speedy access for those who deserve to be here, and Congress needs to get it done,” Mr Biden said.
“It’ll also give me, as president, the emergency authority to shut down the border until it could get back under control. If that bill were the law today, I’d shut down the border right now and fix it quickly.”
The surge of illegal migrants crossing the southern border has emerged as one of the key issues in the presidential election.
Migrant crossings often exceed 10,000 per day. Figures released by border officials showed that a record 302,034 migrants tried to cross the border last month.
Mr Biden is dependent on Congress passing a bill that would not only tighten immigration rules but also unlock aid to Ukraine as part of a combined $110 million spending package. But while Senate Republicans appear ready to do business, Donald Trump has refused to support any compromise.
“As the leader of our party, there is zero chance I will support this horrible, open-borders betrayal of America. It’s not going to happen, and I’ll fight it all the way,” Mr Trump said.
“A lot of the senators are trying to say, respectfully, they’re blaming it on me. I said that’s OK, please blame it on me. Please, because they were getting ready to pass a very bad bill. And I’ll tell you what, a bad bill, I’d rather have no bill than a bad bill.”
Mr Trump’s stance has put him at odds with Republican senators who, led by Mitch Mcconnell, have shown willingness to negotiate with Mr Biden. “I think the best thing for Republicans is to try to work with Republicans,” said Lindsey Graham, South Carolina senator and normally staunch Trump ally.
The former president, however, has the backing of the Republican majority in the House of Representatives where the speaker, Mike Johnson, described the bill as “dead on arrival”, despite full details of the bill not yet being revealed.
The border crisis has also put the Biden administration at odds with Greg Abbott, Texas Republican governor, who has unilaterally taken a raft of measures, including floating barriers on the Rio Grande, to secure the border.