Illegal immigration is one of the main concerns of Americans and a central issue in Donald Trump’s campaign to return to the White House. Trump successfully used immigration as a centerpiece of his 2016 campaign, and following record border crossings during Joe Biden’s term, he has intensified his focus on the issue. Despite maintaining this rhetoric, Republicans have rejected a law to reinforce the border for the second time in the Senate.
In February, Democrats reached an agreement with some Republican senators to approve a package of about $20 billion to combat illegal immigration. This package was tied to aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and was initially a Republican demand. However, before the vote, Trump mobilized his supporters to boycott the agreement. Although Democrats control the Senate, a supermajority is needed to pass most legislation, and without Republican votes, the proposal stalled.
In last Thursday’s vote, a majority of Senate Democrats supported the procedure to begin debate on the border bill, but all Republicans except Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski voted against it. “We are approaching the end of President Biden’s term, and the American people’s patience with his failure to secure the southern border is wearing thin,” said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.
Biden’s discomfort in the face of Republican refusal
President Biden complained in a statement: “Congressional Republicans don’t care about protecting the border or fixing the US immigration system. If they cared, they would have voted for the strictest border control in history. Instead, today they have put partisan politics before our country’s national security,” Biden said.
The law would have allocated more than $20 billion to provide personnel and equipment for immigration and border services. It included funding for border patrols, asylum officers, immigration judges and foster care services. In addition, it introduced a legal modification that would have allowed Biden to carry out immediate returns, suspending asylum rules when certain thresholds in the flow of entries were exceeded. The legislation allows immigrants to apply for asylum regardless of how they arrive, and they arrive in such numbers that it overwhelms the capacity of an underfunded immigration system. That effectively allows immigrants to settle while their cases are delayed for years. The law would have activated the immediate repatriation of migrants upon exceeding 4,000 illegal crossings per day on average for a week.
The Biden Administration has introduced some changes to the asylum system to speed up the processing and possible expulsion of immigrants. In addition, it is analyzing the possibility of approving a decree with some measures to make the passage of immigrants more difficult or facilitate their expulsion. Among the measures he is considering is invoking the powers under Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which gives the president broad latitude to block the entry of certain immigrants if doing so would be “harmful.” for the national interest.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump uses this slogan to boost his presidential campaign
Trump repeatedly resorted to that rule during his term, including his controversial entry ban on travelers from Muslim-majority countries, which Biden revoked as soon as he took office. The Biden Government is analyzing whether this provision can be applied when a certain number of illegal crossings is exceeded, in line with the provision included in the proposed law. But if the law is not changed, any decree against border crossings can be challenged in court.
The former president promises much stronger measures in his campaign rallies and in the interviews he has given. He refers to immigrants as “criminals” and “terrorists” and has promised mass deportations, even employing the military if necessary.
Asked again if he saw himself using the military for this, he said: “I see myself using the National Guard and, if necessary, I would have to go a step further. We have to do whatever it takes to stop the problem we have. (…) Yes, we have to do what we have to do to stop the crime and to stop what is happening on the border.” In that same interview he refused to rule out that he is going to create immigration detention or concentration camps. “We may do it to some extent, but we shouldn’t have to do it much,” he said, arguing that removal would be quick and those camps would not be needed.
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Source: El País
