The White House statement comes after a week of frantic negotiations in the Senate.

President Joe Biden on Friday urged Congress to pass a bipartisan bill to address the immigration crisis at the nation’s southern border, saying he would shut down the border the day the bill became law.

“What’s been negotiated would — if passed into law — be the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we’ve ever had in our country,” Biden said in a statement. “It would give me, as President, a new emergency authority to shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed. And if given that authority, I would use it the day I sign the bill into law.”

Biden’s Friday evening statement resembles a ramping up in rhetoric for the administration, placing the president philosophically in the camp arguing that the border may hit a point where closure is needed. The White House’s decision to have Biden weigh in also speaks to the delicate nature of the dealmaking, and the urgency facing his administration to take action on the border — particularly during an election year, when Republicans have used the issue to rally their base.

The president is also daring Republicans to reject the deal as it faces a make-or-break moment amid GOP fissures.

  • originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    10
    arrow-down
    5
    ·
    edit-2
    10 months ago

    if we had solid immigration policies, and a path for immigration through the southern border, and we actually staffed/supported it financially you wouldnt see all this

    but we dont

    we dont manage immigrants with the expectation they are going to come in and become citizens, and help them do so. racists are so hard set against helping people enter this country successfully it creates the environment you describe.

    if you want to solve for what youre afraid of; push for easier immigration. push for immigration centers all along the border. push for services to help relocate recent immigrants.

    this could all easily be accomplished.

    we dont because > 50% of the country are fucking racist

    • protist
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      arrow-down
      3
      ·
      10 months ago

      No argument here with anything you just said, but it also doesn’t contradict anything I said. It’s easy to feel angry about our government’s failures and it’s easy to imagine ideal solutions. What’s a lot more difficult is accepting the reality of where we are right now and taking concrete steps toward making things better in the face of a very influential right-wing political and media machine that opposes all solutions. I think Biden is doing a fantastic job navigating this problem