Staff Reports
The White House faced a barrage of tough questions on Wednesday over its potential plans to bring back some of former President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. The House is currently mulling over a bill that would offer assistance to Ukraine and Israel while also beefing up security along the southern border, which has been inundated with a massive surge in illegal crossings since President Joe Biden took office.
When grilled about immigration, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre kept pointing to a bill Biden unveiled on his first day as president that aimed to revamp border policies. However, that bill has gone absolutely nowhere, and Biden has flat-out refused to sit down with Republicans to hash out any details.
White House pressed on Biden's proposed return to Trump-era immigration policies https://t.co/0Xbem9aukf
— Tom Raymond (@TomRaym63158593) December 14, 2023
But now, there are rumblings that Biden might be open to slashing the number of allowable asylum claims and reinstating the pandemic-era Title 42 border expulsion policy, which would mark a major about-face from the administration’s previous stance. This potential move has the potential to ruffle some Democratic feathers, as it would bring Biden closer to Trump’s position on the issue.
“Our sources indicate that the White House is considering an authority that would allow for temporary suspension of asylum processing during times of increased border crossings,” a reporter prodded. “Wouldn’t that be a significant shift in policy, effectively reverting back to the previous four years?”
Jean-Pierre dodged the question, opting not to delve into specifics and instead insisting on the need to find a middle ground with bipartisan support, all while harking back to the day-one bill.
When pressed on why Biden won’t engage with Congress to tackle the bill, despite meeting with lawmakers on other matters, and why he hasn’t given much public attention to the issue, Jean-Pierre vehemently disagreed. “We’ve taken action after action on policy without Congress’ assistance. That’s consistency right there, and in proposing the initial legislation to address this issue, which has been broken for decades, that’s what he took on as president,” she fired back.
The Washington Examiner also pounced on the administration for Biden’s obstinate stance on discussing immigration during a recent briefing.
Another reporter underscored that the proposed immigration measures are “supported by Donald Trump and Stephen Miller,” creating a sticky situation for Biden in future campaigns.
“I can’t negotiate from this platform,” Jean-Pierre deflected. “Discussions are currently ongoing. I don’t want to preempt those. I want to give people the space to have those conversations.”
