More than a dozen House Democrats are pressing President Biden to use his executive powers to secure the border, arguing that Congress’ partisan impasse on the issue leaves him no choice but to act unilaterally.
In a letter delivered To the president on Tuesday, 15 Democrats — most of them in competitive re-election races — said the only lasting solution to stem the tide of migration and the flow of fentanyl is for both parties to join forces and pass legislative solutions. But after Republicans blocked a bipartisan border bill earlier this year, the issue has little chance of resurfacing before the November elections, creating a void that only the White House can fill.
“It has become clear that the current situation remains unsustainable, but with Republicans playing politics on border security, it is time for your administration to act,” the lawmakers wrote. “We urge you to use all tools at your disposal, including executive actions, to better address security at the southern border, interdict illicit fentanyl, and enable orderly legal immigration.”
The letter was led by Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) and endorsed by 14 other House Democrats, including Reps. Susan Wild (Pa.), Mike Levin (Calif.), Steven Horsford (Nev.), Matt Cartwright (Pa. .), Susie Lee (Nev.), Sharice Davids (Kan.), Chris Pappas (NH) and Hillary Scholten (Mich.) – all ranked among vulnerable lawmakers identified by the Cook Political Reporta non-partisan electoral hurdle.
The push for Biden to act on border security highlights concerns among some Democrats that the contentious issue will be a liability to their re-election chances in November, as Republicans seek to capitalize on voters’ anxieties about immigration in general. and the border in particular.
In February, after months of tough negotiations, a group of bipartisan senators reached an agreement on tougher border security measures to accompany a massive foreign aid package, including new military aid for Ukraine and Israel. The border provisions were a demand of conservatives in both chambers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who said Congress would be remiss in protecting other countries’ borders without also protecting its own.
That package went off the rails, however, after former President Trump advised Republicans not to support any border reforms before the election — an issue he hopes to use against Biden on the campaign trail.
Trump’s request upended the debate, as Republicans quickly criticized the bipartisan agreement for being too weak. Johnson declared it “dead on arrival” in the House, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), after defending the deal, voted with the majority of Republicans to sink it in the Upper Chamber.
Democrats, including Biden, have criticized Republicans for abandoning the border issue, saying they squandered the opportunity to achieve bipartisan immigration reforms that had eluded Congress for decades.
But the complaints have done nothing to improve conditions at the southern border, where thousands of migrants continue to arrive seeking asylum every day — a dynamic that has fueled GOP attacks on Biden’s handling of the crisis.
In their letter, the 15 Democrats accused Republicans of refusing to address the issue legislatively for the sole purpose of using the issue as a campaign cudgel against Democrats.
“This Congress had the opportunity to work together on a bipartisan basis to secure the border, but House Speaker Mike Johnson refused to bring us that bill for debate because our colleagues in the House would rather see the crisis go ahead and use it as a campaign ad. to truly address this national security issue,” they wrote.
But they also want Biden to intervene with executive solutions, citing the enormous ubiquity of the fentanyl crisis and the difficulty local governments face as they struggle to locate housing and other services for asylum seekers.
“All of our constituents, regardless of our electoral district, have felt the impacts of the current border situation,” they wrote.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
