The White House said Monday that President Biden will veto Republicans’ border security bill if it reaches his desk, saying it’s too harsh on illegal immigrants.
Administration officials complained that the new GOP bill would make it tougher to catch and release new arrivals, and would cut off “nearly all access” for illegal immigrants to claim protection here in the U.S.
And while complaining that Congress has been slow to act, the White House statement of policy said this attempt to act goes the wrong direction.
“If the president were presented with H.R. 2, he would veto it,” the White House Budget Office said.
H.R. 2 is the official legislative designation of the House Republicans’ bill, which is expected to see a vote in the full chamber by the end of this week.
The bill would restart border wall construction, add more Border Patrol agents, reel in the administration’s expansive and legally iffy use of “parole” to welcome unauthorized migrants, tighten the rules on claiming asylum and end the practice of catch-and-release.
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It would also mandate businesses use E-Verify, a system that checks to make sure new hires are authorized to work in the U.S.
The White House, in its statement Monday, didn’t touch on the major enforcement measures and instead focused on what it called a too-restrictive approach to those seeking asylum.
The GOP bill would try to return the asylum system to where it was several decades ago, when general crime and gang violence in their home country weren’t considered grounds for asylum seekers to claim persecution.
The legislation also would impose a fee for asylum applications, creating a potential monetary hurdle for those applying for protection.
Migrants who leave their homes and cross other countries to reach the U.S. and then claim asylum would generally be barred from making claims here, under the assumption that they could have sought asylum in the countries they crossed.
By continuing on to the U.S., their claim is less about protection from persecution and more about seeking a place specifically in the U.S., analysts say.
The Biden administration is about to finalize its own policy with a similar third-country prohibition, but it said the GOP’s version is too harsh.
“The bill would cut off nearly all access to humanitarian protections in ways that are inconsistent with our Nation’s values and international obligations,” the White House said.
The administration also complained that the bill cuts money going to nongovernmental organizations that welcome and resettle illegal immigrants.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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