Speaking from the tarmac of the Westchester County Airport, the President shared candid insights into the issue, which has long been a point of contention.
On Tuesday, Biden projected that the border situation would continue to be "chaotic for a while" as his administration grapples with restoring order. However, he conceded on Wednesday that the border had been engulfed in "chaos" for several years.
"Well, we've had chaos at the border for a number of years," President Biden stated just before embarking on Air Force One in White Plains, New York, adding, "We have to fully fund the border security effort."
His comments highlighted the necessity for a more organized immigration process. "Look, the purpose of what we're doing now is making legal immigration more streamlined, illegal immigration shorter term and moved -- and moving in a direction that people know that there's a legal way to get here and not legal way. That is what's underway now," Biden explained.
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The President took office in January 2021, when the Democratic Party controlled Congress with a majority in the House of Representatives and a tie-breaking grip on the U.S. Senate. Despite this, the Biden administration has been consistently criticized for its handling of border security, including its refusal to utilize funding earmarked for reinforcing the border, its lawsuit against Arizona to remove shipping containers that helped plug gaps in the U.S. Border Patrol Yuma Sector, and its cessation of former President Trump's "Remain in Mexico" policy. The policy has since been reinstated following the administration's failure to extend Title 42.
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On Wednesday evening, President Biden addressed several queries about the over 10,000 migrants detained daily at the border, the looming expiration of Title 42 expected to trigger an influx of additional migrants seeking entry into the U.S., and Mexico's role in the ongoing crisis. He also responded by deploying more U.S. troops to the border. "I spent an hour with the President of Mexico yesterday. He's been very cooperative," he shared.
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The President also indicated that he and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador were "in agreement," with the Mexican President supporting the provision of way-stops in Colombia and other countries for potential asylum seekers. When asked about possibly dispatching more troops to the border, Biden replied, "Yes." He did not, however, provide specifics about the number of additional forces under consideration. "The troops are there to free up the Border Patrol people to be able to do their job," Biden clarified.
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The President appeared to attribute the border security challenges to a divided Congress. "Look, I asked the Congress for a lot more money for the Border Patrol. They didn't do it. They've made it harder," he said, adding that his administration aimed to make the border functional as designed, which requires additional immigration officers, asylum judges, and personnel.
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House Republicans accuse Biden of being singularly responsible for the border crisis. They have proposed the Secure the Border Act, aimed at renewing efforts to build a border wall, augment the number of border patrol agents, and provide them with better financial incentives. The act also seeks to terminate "catch and release" policies.
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At a Republican leadership press briefing, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., argued that Biden's policies had created most of the border problems. "Most of the problems we're seeing at the border were created by Joe Biden himself, starting on his very first day in office as president when he sent a message throughout the world that America's border is open by doing things like halting construction of the wall, reinstating catch and release, terminating the Remain in Mexico policy, the Northern Triangle agreements," Scalise argued.
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Scalise further stated, "And so as House Republicans, we said we're not going to sit on the sidelines like President Biden is creating this problem. We're going to actually work on solving this problem. And so tomorrow, the day that Title 42 expires, we're going to bring H.R. 2, the Securing the Border Act, a bill that actually focuses on solving the problem, so we can get back to the rule of law and have a secure border in America, reestablish a legal path to come into this country."
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Over a dozen immigration groups have lauded the Secure the Border Act as a "forceful and serious" attempt to counter the mass migration at the border. Despite this, President Biden has threatened to veto the act.
According to border officials, the expiration of Title 42 is anticipated to usher in a surge of up to 14,000 encounters a day. The over 10,000 migrants apprehended on Monday and Tuesday represent the highest single-day totals ever recorded, as per Customs and Border Protection sources.
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