WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson asked President Joe Biden take executive immigration actions to address border security, affected by an unprecedented wave of immigration in the United States.
The request was made through a letter in which he urges Biden to restart some immigration policies that were adopted during the Donald Trump administration, such as the resumption of the construction of the border wall, ending the use of parole programs that It is responsible for releasing migrants after crossing the border, renewing the “Remain in Mexico” agreement and accelerating the expulsion of immigrants who do not meet the parameters for requesting asylum. The majority of migrants request asylum, a tool that temporarily opens doors for them while the case is processed by the Immigration authorities.
At the same time, Johnson called for restricting access to work permits for undocumented migrants on parole.
Johnson blamed Biden for the border crisis and urged him to take action “to stop the record wave of illegal immigration.”
“Statutory reforms designed to restore operational control at our southern border must be enacted, but the crisis at our southern border has deteriorated to such a point that we cannot wait any longer to take meaningful action. It must start now and it must start with you,” Johnson warns Biden.
Without agreement there is no financing for Ukraine
The House of Representatives closed session without reaching a bipartisan immigration agreement before closing for the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Joe Biden’s administration is asking Congress to approve $110 billion, most of it for Ukraine, but Republicans have reiterated that they will not approve funds for that country as long as Biden does not guarantee border security where 12,000 migrants enter daily, a situation that keeps Border Patrol agents overwhelmed.
This situation forced the United States government to close two railroad crossings on the border.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said Sunday that the decision was made “in order to reorient personnel to assist Border Patrol in taking migrants into custody.”
“Failure of immigration policy”
The Employers’ Confederation of the Mexican Republic (Coparmex) described the closure of the railroad crossings to Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, as a “failure of immigration policy.” The organization said that The situation was causing losses of 100 million dollars a day on delayed shipments.
Mexico receives by train from the United States much of the corn and soybeans used to feed livestock. Automobiles and auto parts are also frequently shipped by rail from Mexico.
“We make a strong but respectful call to the Mexican and American authorities to address the migration crisis without affecting goods flowssince this measure only generates damage to the economy of both nations,” Coparmex wrote in a statement.
The U.S. government wants Mexico to crack down on migrants traveling on rail cars to the U.S. border.
In the statement, CBP wrote that “after observing a recent resurgence of smuggling organizations moving migrants through Mexico via freight trains, CBP will take additional steps to increase staffing and address this troubling development, including in collaboration with the Mexican authorities.”
Migrants typically travel on freight trains through Mexico, getting off shortly before entering the United States.
Meanwhile, the Lukeville, Arizona, border crossing is closed, as is a pedestrian entrance in San Diego, to be able to assign more officials to care for migrants. Illegal crossings on the southwestern border of the United States exceeded 10,000 on some days in December, an unprecedented number.
Trip to Mexico to address crisis
A delegation of high-ranking United States officials plans to visit Mexico soon while negotiations continue on Capitol Hill in Washington over the application of immigration rules on the border between both nations.
Republican and Democratic lawmakers are debating changes to border policies as part of a broader negotiation over U.S. aid to Ukraine and Israel, which are the White House’s top foreign policy priorities.
The next visit to Mexico is announced amid the commotion over the closure of two railroad crossings in Texas a few days ago. US officials said that staff had to be reassigned to deal with the high number of migrants crossing the border illegally.
Mexican companies warned that the closures are hampering commerce.
Increased surveillance at the border
Biden spoke with his Mexican counterpart Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Thursday and they agreed that greater surveillance at the border was necessary in order to reopen the railroad crossings, according to John Kirby, White House national security spokesman.
Kirby noted that Biden asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken; to the Secretary of National Security, Alejandro Mayorkas; and the White House national security advisor, Liz Sherwood-Randall, will travel to Mexico in the coming days to meet with López Obrador and his team in order to discuss other actions that can be taken to address this challenge. .
A U.S. official, who asked to speak on condition of anonymity, said the trip would likely take place Saturday if details are finalized.
“What more can we do together”
“His visit will really be about addressing migration flows and talking to President López Obrador and his team about what more we can do together,” Kirby said at a White House press conference.
Mexican companies are so eager for border crossings to reopen that the leader of the Confederation of Industrial Chambers wrote on social media late Wednesday that an agreement had been reached to reopen them. A spokesperson for the United States Embassy quickly denied it.
Source: DLA and AP Editorial
