House Democrats Urge President Biden to Take Action on U.S.-Mexico Border
A group of House Democrats facing a tough campaign cycle has called on President Biden to take executive action on the United States' border with Mexico.
The legislators from Minnesota, Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Michigan, among other states, urged Biden in a letter to "immediately take further action to restore order at the Southern border and fix our broken immigration system."
Mr. Biden has faced harsh criticism from Republicans and from some within his own party over his approach to immigration and the border ahead of November's general election. That dynamic is playing out as Mr. Biden runs against former President Donald Trump, his presumptive Republican challenger, for another term.
In April, CBS News polls of three presidential battleground states (Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin) showed that a majority of likely voters view the U.S.-Mexico border as a major factor in their vote for president.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday about the letter.
Yet the collapse of a bipartisan border deal in the Senate earlier this year provided Democrats an opportunity to counter long standing GOP attacks on the issue.
New Call for Action on Border Security
A recent letter, spearheaded by Minnesota Democratic Rep. Angie Craig, highlights the collapse of a deal due to Republican opposition, signaling a need for President Biden to take decisive action.
"It has become clear that the current situation remains untenable, but with Republicans playing politics on border security, it is time for your administration to act," the letter emphasized. "We urge you to use all tools at your disposal, including executive action, to better address security at the Southern border, interdict illicit fentanyl and allow for orderly legal immigration."
Joining Rep. Craig in this call are 15 Democratic House members, including Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, Reps. Susan Wild and Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania, and Reps. Susie Lee and Steven Horsford of Nevada.
The lawmakers stressed that the impact of the current border situation is felt by all constituents, regardless of their congressional district.
Notably, last week the House passed a Republican-led measure criticizing the Biden administration's border policies in a bipartisan vote. Thirteen Democrats sided with 210 Republicans in supporting this measure, including some who also signed the recent letter to President Biden.
Similar criticism from the GOP was also passed by the House earlier this year with a small level of Democratic support. Most Democrats, however, have voted against those messaging efforts.
Democrats narrowly lost control of the House in the 2022 midterms, handing the chamber back to Republican leaders for the first time since early 2019. The narrow GOP majority, however, has struggled frequently since taking over. Democrats would only need to win a small number of seats to regain control in this fall's general elections.
Tuesday's letter is the latest demonstration of how the border and immigration, in general, can be a contentious issue as Mr. Biden looks to maintain enthusiasm from both centrist-minded Democrats and the more progressive-focused voters.
Over the past months, Mr. Biden has been considering taking executive action to reduce illegal border crossings, which soared to record levels last year. One of the moves being explored would involve the president restricting asylum by invoking an authority known as 212(f) that allows presidents to suspend the entry of foreigners when their arrival is deemed to be "detrimental" to U.S. interests. The administration, however, has yet to announce any new border measures.
The Biden administration recently announced a new regulation enabling a large number of undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to enroll in the Affordable Care Act's health insurance.
In late March, during fundraising events in Texas, Mr. Biden consistently accused Trump of causing "disorder" at the border by leading a GOP campaign in Congress to sabotage the bipartisan Senate border agreement. Mr. Biden has also condemned Trump's inflammatory language on immigration, following the former president's statement that undocumented immigrants were "contaminating the essence of our nation."
