“It’s time”: Biden urges Congress to give him authority to close the border if there’s an emergency

President Joe Biden asked the Senate to continue bipartisan negotiations and approve an amendment to immigration laws that would allow the government to close the border with Mexico if it “breaks down.”

In a statement issued by the White House Friday night, Biden made it clear that if the Senate approves the measure, which has been debated behind closed doors between senators from both parties for more than two months, “Give me, as president, new emergency powers to close the border when it’s full.”

“And if I had that right, I would use it the day I signed the bill,” he said.

Earlier in the week, Trump wrote on the Truth social network that “we should not reach a border agreement.” During a victory speech in New Hampshire, the former president indicated that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Calif.) would not approve a final deal in the Senate.

In a brief statement from Biden, the president said the border issue “is time to solve it.” And he pointed out: “Two months ago I directed my team to begin negotiations with a bipartisan group of senators to seriously and finally address the border crisis.”

“For weeks now they have done just that. Working 24 hours during holidays and weekends,” he indicated.

Detailing some of the content of the bipartisan talks, which have so far been kept secret, Biden said that “what has been negotiated will be — if it becomes law — The toughest and most justifiable set of border security reforms our country has ever seen.”

He added that “It would give me, as president, new emergency authority to close the border when it’s full. And if I had that authority, I would use it the day I signed the bill.

Biden also said in the statement “Congress needs to finally provide the funding I requested in October to secure the border.”

The request proposed by the president, which is $14 billion within a million-dollar aid package for Ukraine and Israel, includes the hiring of 1,300 additional Border Patrol agents, 375 immigration judges, 1,600 asylum officers and more than 100 states. State-of-the-art inspection machines to help detect and stop fentanyl at our southwest border.

“Securing the border through these negotiations is a victory for the United States,” the president said. And he also said that “for all those who demand stricter border controls, this is the way to do it.”

Contrary to Trump’s strategy, which calls for closing the border to end illegal immigration and threatening to deport all undocumented immigrants from the first minute of his administration, he will return to the White House if he wins. Biden insists on defending and protecting respect for due immigration process, allowing immigration judges to ultimately decide the fate of asylum seekers.

“If you are serious about the border crisis, pass a bipartisan bill and I will sign it,” the statement concluded.

“In December 2023, the United States Border Patrol recorded 249,785 encounters between ports of entry along the Southwest border. And total CBP encounters along the Southwest border in December were 302,034,” the report states.

The agency, which operates under the mandate of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), further stated that “contrary to historical trends and increased law enforcement, the first two weeks of January 2024 saw a more than 50% decrease in encounters along the Southwest border. Ports of entry, according to preliminary figures. .

CBP also said the CBP One mobile app is “a key component of DHS’s efforts to encourage non-citizens to use legal, safe, humane and orderly routes and to discourage attempts to cross between ports of entry.”

The report noted that in December, CBP “CBP processed approximately 45,770 individuals by appointment at ports of entry using the updated information presented in One.” From the introduction of the tool in January 2023 until the end of December, “about 413,300 people have successfully made appointments to be present at ports of entry, with Venezuelans, Mexicans and Haitians being the main favored nationalities.”

For their part, 327,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans arrived legally under conditional release procedures (humanitarian parole) as of the end of December. Of those, more than 69,000 Cubans, 133,000 Haitians, 60,000 Nicaraguans and 87,000 Venezuelans were screened and authorized to travel. “And more than 67,000 Cubans, 126,000 Haitians, 53,000 Nicaraguans, and 81,000 Venezuelans arrived and were granted parole,” the report states.