President Biden urges House to pass bipartisan border deal

• President Biden urges House to pass bipartisan border deal negotiated in Senate.

• Reforms would give Biden emergency authority to shut down the border during overrun.

• House Speaker Mike Johnson believes the bill may be dead on arrival.

Joe Biden looks focused.

AP

President Biden is urging the House to pass the bipartisan border deal negotiated in the Senate, which aims to address the ongoing border crisis. The president contends that the reforms included in the bill would grant him new emergency authority to shut down the border when overcrowding occurs, a measure he claims he would employ if necessary. However, House Speaker Mike Johnson has expressed doubts about the bill's chances of success in the House, suggesting that it may be dead on arrival. The former President, Donald Trump, has also voiced his opposition to the bill, which can influence many Republicans, particularly in the House, to follow suit.

The Senate's proposed border plan contains several crucial components. It mandates the detention of all single adults caught crossing the border illegally and enforces a mandatory shutdown of the border once the average daily number of migrant encounters reaches 5,000. The border would only reopen once the daily encounters are reduced to less than 3,750. With these provisions, it is estimated that approximately 150,000 migrants per month, totaling 1.8 million per year, would be entering the country—equivalent to the population of Phoenix.

In response to the Senate plan, President Biden acknowledged the long-standing issue of a broken border and expressed his belief that the proposed reforms would be the most stringent and equitable measures ever implemented to secure the border. The president emphasized the importance of granting him new emergency authority to close the border when the situation becomes overwhelming, echoing concerns raised by many Republicans regarding the current state of border affairs.

However, not all opinions align with President Biden's stance. Some Republicans argue that the focus should be on achieving zero illegal immigration, rather than finding an acceptable threshold. Republican Tony Gonzalez expressed his disagreement with the administration, stating that efforts should be directed towards preventing any illegal immigration altogether.

Meanwhile, President Biden is continuing his duties, as Marine One recently landed on the South Lawn. He is scheduled to travel to South Carolina, where his name will be on the ballot for the first time in a significant election. In previous election events like the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary of the 2020 election, President Biden had finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

As the Senate's proposed border deal awaits further consideration in the House, the fate of the reforms remains uncertain. The ongoing debate surrounding border security and immigration policy continues to be a contentious issue, where finding a balanced approach that addresses concerns from both sides of the aisle remains a challenge.