A bipartisan effort to address the border crisis is facing some major setbacks. President Biden believes that former President Donald Trump is largely to blame.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have met to prepare a bill they believe will put paid to the challenges at the Mexico border. Since Biden took over the Oval Office, things have gone from bad to worse and to extremely worse at the border.
As 2023 wound down, border agents encountered an average of 10,000 illegal immigrants at border crossings every day. States like Texas and Arizona that had borders with Mexico also bore the brunt of the problem. Needy migrants overstretched the state’s welfare budgets and gulped large sums of taxpayer funds from the governments.
The Biden administration has been scratching its head to remedy the situation, which has become a hot topic leading up to the elections. Republicans have heavily criticized Biden’s soft border policies to the listening ears of American voters. So much so that if Biden were to lose his reelection bid, the situation at the southern border would be largely to blame.
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The bipartisan bill would put forward a major U-turn in Biden’s border policies. It included provisions that would allow the federal government to temporarily shut down the border if things got out of hand. This provision has shocked both Democrats and Republicans.
Biden hopes to win back the hearts of angry Americans through the bill. But one person seems to be standing in the way. Biden has boldly declared that it’s Donald Trump.
Recently, Biden spoke about the bill, which is worth over $118 billion and includes the provision of aid to Israel and Ukraine. He called the bill “an extraordinary effort” and tagged it “the most fair, humane reforms in our immigration systems in a long time.” But Trump has to get out of the way.
POLL—Should the U.S. Government Create a Path to Citizenship for Undocumented Immigrants?
“Now, all indications are that this bill won’t even move forward to the Senate floor,” he said. “Why? A simple reason: Donald Trump.”
“Donald Trump thinks it’s bad for him politically, even though it helps the country,” he reasoned. Biden also alleged that Trump was threatening Republican legislators who were in support of the bill. “He’d rather weaponize the issue than solve it,” he said.
Biden, who has suffered an unprecedented approval rating over the Mexico border, asked Americans to hold Trump responsible for the problem. “Every day, between now and November, the American people are going to know that the only reason the border isn’t secure is Donald Trump and his MAGA Republican friends.”
Also Read: Sen. Chuck Schumer Expresses Optimism Over Bipartisan Border Bill Despite GOP Opposition
Donald Trump, on his part, has accused Biden of paying lip service to the crisis at the border with the proposed legislation. The former president reasoned that Biden didn’t need another piece of legislation to keep the border under control.
When lawmakers introduced the bill, it received the praise of not just the president but the Democrat leader of the senate, Chuck Shummer. The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnel, also commended the initiative.
Considering the massive influence Trump wields over most Republican lawmakers, it might take a miracle for the bill to see the light of the day.
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