Biden Prepared to Veto Bill That Would Build More Border Wall and Restrict Migrant Asylum as Crisis Looms
President Joe Biden would veto a House GOP bill that aims to restrict asylum, build more border wall and cut a program that allows migrants a chance to stay in the U.S. lawfully for two years, an administration official said Monday.
Republicans are looking to take action in the face of a surge in illegal immigration with the ending of COVID-19 restrictions that allowed border authorities to quickly return many migrants who crossed the border illegally.
They aim to vote on their Secure the Border Act on Thursday — the same day the emergency powers expire.
Officials already are seeing a surge of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border and are bracing for more.
NEW: Remarkable video from our Fox drone team shows an enormous line of hundreds of migrants who just crossed illegally into Brownsville, TX this evening. A large majority of them are single adults. The RGV continues to see a massive surge of illegal crossings ahead of T42 drop. pic.twitter.com/xHDV8sc8PD
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) May 8, 2023
The 213-page bill resurrects a slew of the border security policies of former President Donald Trump’s administration, such as building barriers along hundreds of miles of border country.
In some cases, the legislation pushes beyond Trump’s policies, most of which were reversed when Biden took office.
It stands little chance of passing the Democratic-held Senate, but if it were to end up on the president’s desk, he’d veto it, said the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about a decision that hasn’t yet been announced and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The bill would cut the program that allows U.S. officials to quickly turn away migrants from Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba and Nicaragua.
The Biden administration has long argued Congress needs to act on “immigration reform” but has resisted beefing up border security or forcing migrants to remain in Mexico while their asylum claims are processed.
The latter policy — formally called the Migrant Protection Protocols — was implemented under Trump.
New rules about to go into effect this week limit the number of people who can claim asylum at the border and encourage migrants to apply for asylum through a new app or at a regional hub opening in both Guatemala and Colombia.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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