Biden Says Admin Is Looking Into Whether He Could Close Border

(USNewsBreak.com) – The Biden administration, Congress, and state authorities have clashed on border policy for several years now. Millions of migrants have entered the US since President Joe Biden took office, prompting controversy about how to address the situation. GOP lawmakers have called upon the president to enact stricter policies — including some who’ve taken matters into their own hands by attempting to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. In a recent interview, Biden made a surprising statement.

The president told Enrique Acevedo of Univision that the administration is looking into whether he could unilaterally shut down the border if he needs to. Biden said some advisors have suggested he “just go ahead and try it, and if [he gets] shut down by the court, [he gets] shut down by the court.” However, the president said he hadn’t decided whether to issue an executive order on the matter, and he refused to commit to any action.

President Biden said that the administration is weighing whether he has the sole power to close the southern border with Mexico should the need arise. https://t.co/Y7baclmBTH

— The Hill (@thehill) April 10, 2024

Biden blamed former President Donald Trump for playing politics rather than doing what Americans want. He pointed to sources telling him that Trump “called Republicans in Congress and demanded they block” the Senate bipartisan bill that included border funding.

The president explained that the funding would have allowed the government to hire more border agents and immigration judges to help speed up the asylum decision process. Yet, when Trump found out that Biden supported the legislation, he told his party members not to vote for it because it would “benefit Biden,” according to the president. Biden insisted, “It was a good piece of legislation,” which he doesn’t intend to give up on.

Illegal immigration is proving to be a real problem for Biden, especially considering it’s an election year. In fiscal year 2023, Customs and Border Protection agents handled more than 3.2 million border encounters.