The White House statement comes after a week of frantic negotiations in the Senate.
President Joe Biden on Friday urged Congress to pass a bipartisan bill to address the immigration crisis at the nation’s southern border, saying he would shut down the border the day the bill became law.
“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,” Biden said in a statement. “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’s Friday evening statement resembles a ramping up in rhetoric for the administration, placing the president philosophically in the camp arguing that the border may hit a point where closure is needed. The White House’s decision to have Biden weigh in also speaks to the delicate nature of the dealmaking, and the urgency facing his administration to take action on the border — particularly during an election year, when Republicans have used the issue to rally their base.
The president is also daring Republicans to reject the deal as it faces a make-or-break moment amid GOP fissures.
You’re forgetting that the entire reason why so many people enter illegally* is because it’s next to impossible to enter legally unkess you have lots of connections in the US. Your average foreigner doesn’t stand a chance.
Don’t want 6 million people to enter illegally? Make it easier to enter legally. It’s that simple, yet people like you will never understand that. “Securing the border” only makes the problem worse. We should be opening it instead.
493,000 immigrant visas were given out in 2022. It’s extremely easy to enter, just too many too quick, and y’all have to wait your turn.
Eh, but how much of that is tourist visas. And where are they coming from.
I’m of the opinion that an open border with Mexico is an issue. Which just should not be controversial.
But I’m also married to someone who entered with a tourism visa. Legal immigration is nearly impossible in the US. There are very very few options for a person to enter the country and be on a path to a green card. Saying otherwise is purely ignorant.
Non immigrant visas are up to 6.8 million in 2022.
You should look at what the requirements look like for an immigrant Visa. The average person in South America does not have the ability to satisfy those requirements. But that doesn’t mean they are unable to become a valuable and contributing member of society.
I know people in the US that came here illegally and have gone on to become business owners. But only because they were able to meet and marry a US citizen.
There needs to be a legal path to entry. And we should be stopping the flood of people coming over the border at the same time.
We can only take so many, so quickly. What we’re doing now is completely unsustainable.
So why not select for the best and brightest?