Speaker Mike Johnson demands Biden use executive actions and ‘suspend’ immigration to fix border chaos: Top Republican calls for return to Trump policies as crossings hit historic levels

As immigration talks in Congress stall, House Speaker Mike Johnson sent a letter to President Biden urging him to use executive power to stem the flow of migrants at the southern border .

The speaker instructed the president to end “catch-and-release,” under which migrants found between ports of entry must be turned away and only be used on a “case-by-case basis” conditional release.

He also called on the president to reinstate Trump-era policies such as building the wall, reinstating the Remain in Mexico program and expanding expedited removal for those who cannot prove eligibility for asylum.

Johnson even urged Biden to suspend all immigration — using his authority under Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This provision allows the president to indefinitely suspend the entry of foreign citizens if admitting them is deemed “detrimental” to U.S. interests.

As immigration talks in Congress stall, House Speaker Mike Johnson sent a letter to President Biden urging him to use executive power to stem the flow of migrants at the southern border .

The letter came as the Senate bolted without hammering out the details of its border and foreign aid plan.

“This catastrophe requires the full attention and commitment of your administration, especially since Senate Majority Leader Schumer yesterday suspended the Senate for one year,” Johnson said, pointing to the House's tough immigration bill passed earlier this year was passed, HR2.

The letter noted that Customs and Border Protection encountered nearly 2.5 million migrants in fiscal 2023 and was on track to break that record in 2024.

Border crossings reached as high as 12,000 per day this week. Border agents say their resources are “at capacity” with about 5,000 crossings per day.

“The wide open border has caused unspeakable human tragedy for migrants and certainly for our own citizens,” Johnson wrote, pointing to human trafficking, fentanyl and people on the terrorist watch list crossing the borders.

Migrants walk in a caravan intending to turn themselves in to U.S. Border Patrol agents, in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, December 21

Migrant caravan passes through Mexico to seek asylum at the US border

Migrants await processing at a U.S. Border Patrol transit center in Eagle Pass, Texas. 21st of December

“All this is the direct result of your government's policies,” he wrote.

Senators had been working until Wednesday on a border and relief package as Republicans have insisted they will not let foreign dollars pass through Congress without a tightened border.

But immigration reform has eluded Congress for decades. A faction of Republicans have said they oppose any new aid to Ukraine, even if border restrictions sweeten the deal, and still others say they won't vote for a compromise that isn't as conservative as the HR 2 immigration bill.

Progressives, meanwhile, have urged Biden not to “cave in” to conservative demands at the border, only for temporary aid to a foreign nation.

While Senate leaders insist that “progress” has been made and that they have a deal, they waited until after the holiday recess to draft the text and sell it to the rest of Congress.