FAIR: Biden Uses the State of the Union Address to Blame Congress for a Border Crisis He Does Not Want to Solve
WASHINGTON, March 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Instead of taking responsibility for the border crisis and changing course, President Biden used tonight's State of the Union address to blame the border crisis on Congress' failure to enact flimsy and meaningless legislation, charged the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).
Indeed, President Biden, who has spent the past three years denying that we have a crisis and refusing to enforce countless laws, claimed tonight that he is powerless to act. The president told the American people he lacks the legal authority to secure our borders and enforce our immigration laws. He further accused Congress ? particularly Republicans ? of killing a Senate bill that he claimed would have rectified the crisis that has made illegal immigration the top issue on the minds of American voters.
"The truth is, President Biden has had all the authority he needs to end the border crisis that has been raging since January 20, 2021," stated Dan Stein, president of FAIR. "But instead of enforcing the law, he and his impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, have willfully ignored or subverted countless statutes, systematically dismantled the immigration enforcement capacity of agencies dedicated to that purpose, and canceled existing policies that deterred illegal immigration and asylum fraud.
"Moreover, by pointing to the failed Senate bill, President Biden willfully misled the American people about what is needed to end this crisis," Stein continued. "The Senate bill is not the solution. The bill authored by Senators Lankford, Murphy, and Sinema would have actually codified illegal immigration at historically high levels, exacerbating threats to national security and the costs to American taxpayers.
"If Biden wants a secure border, all he has to do is uphold his constitutional oath to enforce the law. If he wants Congress to give him additional, meaningful authority, then he should urge Congress to pass H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act. That bill -- a serious immigration enforcement bill -- has already passed the House of Representatives. H.R. 2 closes all of the loopholes that President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas have exploited to create the crisis he now acknowledges, and provides the resources and manpower necessary to ensure the security of the nation. Nevertheless, the Democratic-controlled Senate, with the support of the president's administration, is blocking that bill from being enacted.
"It is clear from the president's address that he does not want to solve this crisis. Rather he is intent on shifting blame for the humanitarian, public safety and national security crisis that was created by his administration," Stein concluded.
Contact: Joey Chester, 202-742-1827, [email protected]
SOURCE Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)
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