Conservatives are united on a singular fact: President Biden could secure the border if he simply enforced the laws on the books.
With that in mind, we are opposed to any border proposal that does not, above all else, impose policies that will dramatically reduce the flow of illegal immigration, ensure that new and existing laws are enforced, and address the problem of illegal immigrants voting in U.S. elections.
Rather than focusing on these goals, Republican Senators Mitch McConnell and James Lankford are currently negotiating a border proposal with Senate Democrats and the Biden White House, which accomplishes none of them.
While negotiators continue to withhold legislative language, details that have been leaked suggest that the proposal is deeply insufficient at controlling the historic and unprecedented number of illegal crossings facilitated by the Biden administration.
Worse, it appears that the deal would do serious harm to a future president’s ability to enforce order at the border. The proposal, in effect, codifies Biden's illegal abuses of the system and enshrines programmatic amnesty into law.
Tell Senate Republicans to Oppose the Swamp Border Deal
Of immediate concern is the fact that the proposal would allow four or five thousand illegal crossings to take place before expulsion measures kick in – a rate of roughly 150,000 crossings a month, or 1.8 million per year.
These provisions – as well as others being considered – are dramatic changes to existing law and need a thorough review. But as it stands, no text has been released, and both Republican and Democratic leaders have made clear that they do not intend to have any committee process on this legislation. Neither will they commit to an open amendment process or a designated amount of time to allow senators to review the forthcoming legislation before being required to vote.
The reality is that President Biden does not need new authorities to secure the border. He simply has to enforce the existing law. President Trump was able to secure the border and drop illegal crossings to historic lows simply by enforcing the laws available to him.
It is a fiction that more authority is needed to help President Biden do his job, and it is questionable whether, even with new legal authorities granted to him, Biden would even enforce those laws.
A better legislative approach is H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act of 2023, which the House of Representatives has passed. The bill makes necessary changes to the law to provide for more robust, streamlined enforcement and, critically, has the accountability mechanisms necessary to make sure the law is enforced.
They should walk away from a so-called negotiation that enshrines an acceptable number of illegal crossings into law and does nothing to address outstanding problems like the administration’s abuse of parole authority and illegal immigrants voting in federal and state elections. And no Republican should support any proposal without the ability to review and amend it.
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