In a turnabout that underscores how dramatically the politics of immigration have changed, President Biden is expected today to use an executive order to restrict and in some cases halt migration at the U.S. southern border.
Drafts have been circulating for months in the West Wing political shop. Now the president is five months from Election Day, hoping to get credit from detractors for tough action but without alienating pro migrant and other supporters.
I’ve been briefed on the pending executive order,” said Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), who urged the president to bolster border enforcement (The New York Times). “I certainly support it because I’ve been advocating for these measures for years.”
Some Democrats believe Biden’s about-face to act on his own and then blame Republicans for blocking a bipartisan Senate border bill this year is smart politics, albeit late in the debate. Republicans and some Democratic officials, including in New York City, echo former President Trump in arguing that a “crisis” surge of migrants and asylum-seekers into the U.S. has become an expensive national security risk prompted by Biden’s early reversal of Trump’s immigration policies.
Read more at TheHill.com
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