Some border enforcement policies Democrats excoriated when Donald Trump was president actually have merit and should be kept in place by President Joe Biden’s administration, Democratic lawmakers say.
The turnabout comes as the Biden administration struggles to keep up with the influx of migrants coming to the United States border through Mexico. The problem is particularly acute when it comes to unaccompanied minors. Many have languished in Border Patrol stations as federal officials and private relief organizations scramble to find sites to accommodate them.
“The Trump administration did a number of things on the immigration side that I really disagree with,” Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, told the Washington Examiner. “However, I don’t think the Biden administration should just wholesale say, ‘We’re getting rid of all of it.’ I think we analyze pieces of it and see. We need a comprehensive approach.”
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION HANDLING LIKELY TO MAKE BORDER SECURITY KEY 2022 CAMPAIGN ISSUE FOR GOP
Since taking office on Jan. 20, the Biden White House has sought to reverse Trump administration border policies, including what critics have called “kids in cages.” In February, Biden began issuing a series of executive orders, including one ending the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy. That mandated that 65,000 asylum-seekers stay in Mexico while awaiting their U.S. court hearings.
Sen. Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat, told the Washington Examiner that he is favorable to the “Remain in Mexico” policy.
“Working with the folks south of the border to make sure folks don’t come is smart policy,” Tester said.
Despite some Democratic turnabout on the Remain in Mexico policy and other border measures, Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, said he doubts the Biden administration will bring it back, given the president’s strong campaign rhetoric against it.
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“I don’t see any way they can revive that because, whatever Tester might think, Biden decried that without any qualification consistently during the campaign and ended it on day one,” Krikorian said. “That was, in fact, one of the most effective measures that Trump took, but the Democrats boxed themselves in. I don’t think there’s anything they could do.”
