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As the border reached new levels of chaos this week, House Speaker Mike Johnson demanded President Biden stop waiting for senators and take unilateral action to try to derail the unprecedented number of migrants surging into the country.
Mr. Johnson said Mr. Biden could take several executive actions on his own that would begin to change the incentives that are drawing illegal immigrants to the U.S.
The letter came as senators decamped from Washington without agreeing on new border security legislation. Mr. Johnson pointed out that the GOP-controlled House passed a major border overhaul more than six months ago, and it has been stalled in the Democrat-led Senate.
“The wide-open border has caused unspeakable human tragedy for migrants and certainly for our own citizens,” Mr. Johnson said.
The solutions he urged on Mr. Biden largely involve a return to Trump-era policies, such as curtailing the use of “parole” to catch-and-release migrants, reviving agreements with other countries to offer asylum to illegal immigrants who cross their territory en route to the U.S., and restarting border wall construction.
With those policies in place, along with pandemic border expulsion powers, Mr. Trump enjoyed the least chaotic border in nearly 50 years. Mr. Biden upended the Trump-era get-tough approach and has seen the worst border numbers in history, with agents detecting record numbers of illegal immigrants, fentanyl and terrorism suspects.
This week saw a new daily record for illegal immigrants at the southern border, Mr. Johnson said.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre downplayed the situation, saying that the border “ebbs and flows.”
“We’re at a time of the year where we’re seeing more at the border, and it’s not unusual,” she said.
But she rejected the idea that Mr. Biden could do more unilaterally.
“Look, the president has done everything that he can, right, on his own,” she said.
That approach is part of what irks Republicans, and it suggests a rough time ahead for Mr. Biden and his $106 billion national security spending bill. That includes money for Ukraine and Israel, but Republicans have said it cannot pass unless it also includes changes to the border.
Mr. Biden spent weeks rejecting the idea of major changes but has reversed course and now has senior administration officials in negotiations with GOP senators.
However, progress has been slow and senators left town without finalizing a deal.
Mr. Johnson said Mr. Biden cannot afford to wait on that deal.
“Statutory reforms designed to restore operational control at our southern border must be enacted, but the crisis at our southern border has deteriorated to such an extent that significant action can wait no longer. It must start now, and it must start with you,” the speaker said.
Senators’ talks have centered around new limits to asylum, which has become a fraud-filled loophole to border security, and more deportation capacity.
Those may move the needle somewhat at the border but they are far weaker than the package of plans that passed the House in May.
Mr. Biden, however, is already taking severe political fire from his left flank. Immigration activists and Hispanic rights groups have told the president he will anger young and minority voters if he strikes a deal that limits asylum claims.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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