House votes to CONDEMN Biden over border crisis: 14 Democrats join Republicans in voting to criticize White House migrant policies after historic surge in crossings
- The resolution, which consists mainly of messages and does not change policy, comes after 300,000 migrants attempted to cross the southern border in December
- The Democrats who voted for it were mainly moderates and representatives of border districts
Fourteen Democrats joined Republicans in voting for a Republican Party-led resolution condemning President Biden’s border policies.
The resolution, which consists mainly of messages and does not change policy, comes after 300,000 migrants attempted to cross the southern border in December – a record.
The legislation specifically places blame on President Biden’s “open borders” policy for conditions at the U.S.-Mexico border, stark language that will draw more than a dozen votes from the president’s own party.
The Democrats who voted for it were mainly moderates and representatives of border districts.
Customs and Border Protection encountered nearly 2.5 million migrants in fiscal 2023 and was on track to break that record in 2024.
By the end of the year, the number of border crossings was as high as 12,000 per day. Border agents say their resources are “at capacity” with about 5,000 crossings per day.
The border is at the center of the political debate as Congress and the White House try to hammer out a deal that includes border security provisions and financing from Ukraine and Israel.
Republican caucusgoers in Iowa said in exit polls that immigration was their number one issue, suggesting the issue will remain top of mind in the 2024 election.
Speaker Mike Johnson met with President Biden and Senate Majority Leaders Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., to discuss the package.
Biden has publicly expressed more openness to border security reforms than ever before.
But Republicans in the House of Representatives have expressed skepticism about the negotiations led by their Senate counterparts, insisting they will only accept the hardliner border bill passed in the House of Representatives last year.
“I don’t think this is the time for comprehensive immigration reform because we know how complicated that is,” Johnson told reporters on Wednesday. ‘You don’t do that so quickly. I think it’s time to secure the border. And that is what HR 2 reflects.”
A group of migrants receive food outside the migrant landing zone during a winter storm on January 12, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois
Migrants line up as they prepare to be picked up by Border Patrol agents in Eagle Pass, Texas, U.S., January 14, 2024
For weeks, Johnson has urged Biden to end “catch-and-release,” in which migrants found between ports of entry are turned away and parole is used only “on a case-by-case basis.”
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.
“President Biden’s open borders policies have created a national security crisis, undermined the rule of law, and called into question the sovereignty of the United States,” Rep. Nathaniel Moran, R-Texas, who introduced the resolution, said in a statement.
“By removing effective Trump-era policies such as ‘Remain in Mexico’ and replacing them with a new ‘Catch and Release’ policy that allows migrants to move freely within the United States once they get here; by broadening the path to granting asylum to almost everyone who applies; and by shifting Border Patrol efforts from law enforcement in favor of processing immigration paperwork, the Biden administration has sent a loud and clear message to the rest of the world that the southern border is open.”