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While detailing the supposed merits of the ‘bipartisan’ border bill earlier this week, President Joe Biden admitted the bill falls short of achieving a key Democratic ambition: establishing a legal route to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants. ‘It doesn’t cover every area I had hoped for,’ confessed Biden. ‘We still lack a framework for legalizing those who are already on our soil.’ Biden pledged unwavering commitment to comprehensive immigration reform, including permanent protections and a way to citizenship for youthful immigrants who were brought here as children, have been law-abiding citizens, and make significant contributions to our nation.
This statement was made against the backdrop of recent record-breaking migrant encounters at the southern border, surpassing one million since October 1, an unprecedented statistic. This stark milestone symbolizes the earliest point in any fiscal year to reach such a terrifying threshold according to the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). The previous year’s same period had recorded only 908,000 encounters, approximately 100,000 fewer than this fiscal year.
The sudden surge of migration toward the U.S.-Mexico border can be attributed in no small part to the alarming number of encounters in December, hitting a figure of 302,000. The sheer volume of migrant encounters within such a short period — less than five months — inspires serious concern when put into context. Comparable to the population sizes of U.S. cities like Austin, in Texas, Jacksonville in Florida, or San Jose in California, and Columbus, Ohio, the astronomical number highlights the severity of the humanitarian crisis faced at the border.
As he was calling for citizenship for the untold numbers of undocumented immigrants who’ve arrived under his watch, Biden made a bold — critics may say unconvincing — assertion that the border’s security, or lack thereof, was solely down to his predecessor, Donald Trump. He went further to pin the blame on the Make America Great Again (MAGA) ideology and its Republican promoters.
WATCH:
Joe Biden: “We still need a path of documentation for those who are already here!” pic.twitter.com/MFyChoENFQ
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) February 6, 2024
Biden stated, ‘From today until November, each day will only serve to reinforce in the minds of Americans that the only reason our borders are insecure is because of Donald Trump and his MAGA Republican comrades.’ While Biden might be eager to deflect responsibility for what many see as his administration’s most glaring shortcoming, Americans are aware that border security was much tighter under Trump.
The proposed Senate border bill is viewed by many as a betrayal of Republican supporters. Even Trump himself has openly objected to it. The former president made a hard-hitting critique on Truth Social in response to the bill, slamming those planning to back it.
According to Trump, ‘Only an out-of-touch imbecile or a far-left Democrat would endorse this deplorable border bill. This bill confers Shutdown Authority only after daily encounters reach 5,000. Yet we have the power to secure our borders immediately, an action that needs to be taken now.’
Biden: “The only reason the border is not secure is Donald Trump.”
Illegal border encounters:
2023: 2,476,000
2022: 2,379,000
2021: 1,735,000
2020: 400,000— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) February 6, 2024
Trump continued, ‘This bill is nothing more than a gift to the Democrats at the expense of the Republican party. It sanctions the dismal performance Democrats have done on immigration and the border, absolves them, and puts the blame squarely on Republican shoulders. Don’t fall for it.’
He advocated for a separate and clear-cut border and immigration bill, arguing it shouldn’t be linked to foreign aid in any guise. Pointing out Democrats’ role in the current state of affairs at the border, he urged them to rectify it.
In his critique, he said, ‘The Democrats created this mess at the border and with immigration. It’s up to them to fix it.’
Concluding his critique, he invoked his famous slogan, urging, ‘MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!’
Such an assessment sparks a conversation about the upcoming border bill and its potential implications, along with the urgent need for a more comprehensive approach towards immigration and border control.
Rather than laying blame at the feet of a single administration or a political group, it is high time attention is focused on creating effective, bipartisan solutions to these vexed issues and restoring the confidence of the American people in their government’s ability to safeguard their interests and maintain national security.
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