White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says ‘Why should he?’ when asked why Biden isn’t using executive powers to deal with border crisis

The White House conceded on Wednesday that President Biden does have the power to dramatically curb the migrant crisis at the southern border, but insisted he would not use it.

The president has taken 94 executive actions to undo Donald Trump’s border policies in the months since taking office, but has declined to issue them as the number of migrants has soared.

A deadlocked Congress has repeatedly failed to agree on measures to reduce illegal crossings, which numbered more than 2.5 million last year.

But White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre seemed baffled by the suggestion that the president should take the initiative when asked why he wouldn’t.

“Why should he do it unilaterally?” she asked. “Why not do that legislatively?”

Congress was left without a say when many executive orders circulated in the early days of the administration to repeal Trump’s Remain in Mexico policy, halt construction of the border wall, and increase employment for those who did get through .

White House sources have repeatedly hinted that he would take executive action to curb the number of border crossings, most recently last week when media reported plans to close the border if migrant crossings reach 4,000 per day.

But the president has publicly downplayed the prospect, despite opposition from progressives in his party.

He has complained that the courts could overturn any action he took, and demanded that Republicans in Congress come on board first.

“We’re looking into whether I have that power or not,” Biden told Univision’s Enrique Acevedo in an interview last month.

“Some suggest I should just try, and if I’m banned by the court, I’ll be banned by the court.”

But the White House revisited the idea on Wednesday during its daily press call.

“You need legislation, you want this to be done in a bipartisan way,” Jean-Pierre asserted.

“What I’m saying is that it’s long past time to get this done, to get this moving.

“We were able to create a bipartisan negotiation, a plan on an issue that matters to many Americans, an issue that matters to our immigration system, to what’s happening at the border.

“And that’s a good thing.”

It came as Oklahoma became the latest state to be sued by the Biden administration over efforts to make illegal immigration a state-level crime and allow local police officers to act as immigration officers.

Officials had expected a legal challenge from the Biden administration, which has already sued Texas and Iowa over similar laws.

“Unfortunately, this administration has adopted a one-size-fits-all, they are the federal government and they know best, all states are stupid and unconstitutional,” Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond told a local newspaper.

A cross-party bill to tighten immigration controls collapsed in February after months of negotiations, after Donald Trump claimed the president already had the power to monitor border crossings and demanded Republicans vote against it.

Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act allows the president to block the entry of immigrants deemed “detrimental” to the national interests.

President Trump has repeatedly leaned on that part of the law during his time in office to exclude certain immigrants who cross the border illegally and seek asylum at the southern border.

Immigration has overtaken inflation as voters’ number one concern in February polls, and the issue appears certain to become a major political battleground in November’s presidential election.

And there are signs that public opinion is hardening. A Reuters/Ipsos poll this week found that 56 percent of voters want the government to round up and deport most or all immigrants in the U.S. illegally.

The Senate will vote later this week on a new bipartisan measure that would fund thousands of additional Border Patrol agents, invest in technology to catch drug traffickers and increase the number of immigration officers in an effort to clear a yearslong backlog of asylum cases.

It would also make explicit that the president is able to take unilateral action within the law.

“We are hopeful that this bipartisan proposal will bring serious Republicans back to the table to advance this bipartisan solution for our border,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote to congressional leaders.

Jean-Pierre urged Congress to get behind the new bill, and “every senator to put aside partisan politics and vote to secure the border.”

But the new law is expected to go in the same direction as the previous one, despite a bipartisan backlash, putting more pressure on the president to take unilateral action.

His press secretary’s refusal to accept the idea after accepting the premise that he could cause anger on social media.

“It’s wild for the president to say it’s not my job, like he works at Arby’s,” one person tweeted.

“If securing borders isn’t part of a president’s job, what’s next? Whose job is it, the Easter Bunny’s?” wrote another.

“He broke it, why would you expect him to fix it?” is a great take,” a third added.