Biden at the U.S.-Mexico border (Image: White House)
President Joe Biden is hoping to pass a new bipartisan immigration bill that he has called “the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we’ve ever had in this country.”
Biden has high negative ratings on his border policy and has begun to take a stronger stance on it as the general election approaches.
The Senate bill would change the asylum-seeking process and give Biden emergency powers to close the border if it becomes overwhelmed. On Saturday, the president said he would close the border on the day the bill becomes law.
But the bill faces an uphill battle in the Republican House of Representatives after the meddling of former President Donald Trump.
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Trump has been unwavering in his stance against Biden and the border bill. He took to Truth Social utilizing his typical inflammatory rhetoric to stir up his base.
“TERRORISTS ARE POURING IN UNCHECKED” through the border, and there is “now a 100% chance that there WILL BE A MAJOR TERRORIST ATTACK IN THE USA.”
On Saturday at a rally in Nevada, before the state’s presidential caucus on February 8, Trump said, “As the leader of our party, there is zero chance I will support this horrible open borders betrayal of America.” He went on to criticize the border shutdown powers, saying, “If Joe Biden truly wanted to secure the border, he doesn’t need a bill, I did it without a bill.”
Trump has consistently encouraged congressional Republicans to kill the bill.
He has acknowledged his own political motivations, attempting to deny Biden a bipartisan victory. “A border deal now would be another gift to the radical left Democrats, they need it politically,” Trump said in a statement on Thursday.
The Biden campaign fired back at Trump, lambasting him for “campaigning against solutions for the American people.”
Other prominent Democrats aren’t keen on Trump’s attempts to influence legislation from the sidelines. Former Texas Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke said of Trump, “For all of the bluster about the chaos at the border… he and his Republican party are tanking the best offer they’re ever gonna get from President Biden.”
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-California) said, “[Trump] would rather have chaos, he would rather have nothing happen, then actually some type of solution.”
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