President Joe Biden’s aides no longer feel the same sense of urgency to press forward on executive action addressing the border crisis, three people familiar with the administration’s thinking told Politico.
Biden and his administration were reportedly considering taking executive action in February to address the border crisis while Congress continued to debate a supplemental spending package that would send aid to Ukraine, Israel and the southern border. Since, White House aides no longer feel the same amount of urgency that they felt before as immigration numbers haven’t quite topped December’s record high, Politico reported. (RELATED: ‘Why Can’t You Do It?’: Mike Johnson Details Conversation With Biden Over Executive Action To Shut Down Border)
“They’re in that pretty classic mode of, nothing is on fire right now,” an immigration policy advocate, given anonymity by the outlet to discuss private conversations about the administration’s border policy considerations, told Politico.
While immigration numbers appear to play a role in the urgency surrounding the potential action, the White House is also weary about whether the action would face legal repercussions, Politico reported. Aides to the president have also reportedly noticed that media coverage around the border crisis has been less scrutinizing.
Executive action on the border crisis could make progress within the next weeks or months, a White House official told Politico.
This is the moment when TX National Guard became overrun by migrants rioting to get across the border here in El Paso today
We were there and saw it all happen. Absolute chaos here. pic.twitter.com/VN6Kf663ie
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) March 21, 2024
The White House blamed former President Donald Trump on Friday for illegal immigrants storming a barrier at the southern border and overwhelming the Texas National Guard, as footage captured by the New York Post showed. Trump’s opposition to the supplemental aid package is responsible for the chaotic scene at the border, a White House spokesperson told the Daily Caller.
“We are grateful for Border Patrol’s quick work to get the situation under control and apprehend the migrants,” the spokesperson told the Daily Caller.
“When the former President told Congressional Republicans to block the bipartisan border security agreement – he said to blame him for it. Well he got his wish, and the result was chaos after Governor Abbott’s Operational Lone Star [sic] and razorwire were overrun yesterday. While we cannot comment on individual cases, anyone who does not have a legal basis to remain in the United States is promptly removed,” the White House spokesperson continued.
When fielding questions on the southern border crisis, the White House has repeatedly pointed to Trump as well as Congressional Republicans. The messaging strategy is one that the president himself has endorsed, a person familiar with the administration’s thinking told Politico.
“[Biden’s] just very confident in that messaging,” the source told Politico. “So I think they’re gonna keep trying to explain that to the public.”