President Biden is being forced to address uncomfortable questions about immigration policy amid a surge of unaccompanied minors at the Mexican border that is beginning to overshadow his first 100 days agenda and imperiling thin Democratic majorities in Congress.
Democrats are pressuring Biden to improve conditions for young asylum-seekers entering the United States illegally and housed in federal facilities. They are concerned the new president is tolerating the same inhumane treatment of minors who cross the southern border without their parents that until recently they blamed on former President Donald Trump. Biden campaigned on reversing Trump’s hawkish immigration policies, and liberals counting on him to deliver say their patience is not infinite.
“It means handling the situation at the border with compassion and empathy,” said Ian Silverii, executive director at ProgressNow Colorado, a liberal activist group in Denver. “Progressives want to see action on this issue.”
Republicans are hitting Biden from the other direction.
They argue Biden’s zeal to undo Trump’s effective immigration policies is single-handedly responsible for a fresh wave of young migrants that is endangering their personal well-being — and the public safety of American citizens. Republicans believe the issue could help them recapture control of Congress in 2022, similar to how a similar immigration crisis under Trump, with images of young migrants detained in virtual cages, cost the GOP politically in midterm elections in 2018.
“President Biden’s reckless open border policies,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday during a news conference, “are causing a surge in border crossings and [drug] cartel activities.” The administration, the Republican chief executive continued, “must also answer for enticing these unaccompanied minors into inhumane conditions.”
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The spotlight top Republican officials are putting on the issue, in Washington and across the country, is beginning to distract from the president’s focus on coronavirus recovery efforts. The issue is the top priority of the president’s first 100 days in the White House. He is in the middle of a weekly roadshow to promote passage of his $1.9 trillion spending plan, dubbed the American Recovery Act. There are plans to shift to immigration reform legislation later.
But on Wednesday, immigration dominated the White House briefing, as reporters peppered press secretary Jen Psaki with questions about Biden’s border policies in the context of his sharp criticism of Trump throughout the 2020 presidential campaign. How is this administration any different than the last, they asked. Psaki conceded problems exist but insisted that is the case because Biden is cleaning up Trump’s mess, which will take time, and legislation from Congress.
“This situation on the ground is certainly challenging, in part, because we inherited a dismantled system that wasn’t prepared for processing asylum requests,” she said. “The border is not open. But as you know, we also have changed our policies to approach it in a more humane way — and keep kids safe.”
Trump governed as an immigration hawk.
His administration began construction of a wall along the Mexican border and implemented policies designed to discourage illegal immigration. For instance, asylum-seekers had to remain in Mexico while their requests were handled, rather than being allowed to stay in the U.S. during what is often a very lengthy process. In a particularly controversial policy, parents were separated from their children — a directive the Trump administration defended as protecting minors from human traffickers.
Democrats want all aspects of the Trump immigration agenda unwound and are holding Biden to his commitment to pass comprehensive “progressive” immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship. They would like to start with the Dream Act, legislation that would legalize illegal immigrants who were brought into the country by their parents when they were children. All of this requires support from Republicans if it has any chance of overcoming a Senate filibuster.
That was unlikely to happen to begin with. But with Biden on the defensive over the crisis of unaccompanied minors illegally crossing into the U.S., the prospect of GOP cooperation on immigration legislation is even more remote. Biden’s immigration policies are putting border security at risk, a development Republicans believe will upset swing voters in the suburbs and elsewhere just as much as the Trump administration’s family separations policy.
“The crisis at the border, and immigration in general, are so potent and dangerous to the Democrats that it could be the reason Republicans win control of the House next year,” a veteran Republican operative said. “It is the best issue to reanimate Trump voters and get them reengaged for the midterms.”
Nearly three years ago, this same GOP operative had this to say about family separations:
“It is terrible for House Republicans, President Trump, and the Republican Party as a whole right now. For many voters, including crucial swing voters from suburban areas, it reinforces the absolute worst perceptions when it comes to immigration. The president blaming the Democrats rings hollow because we are in charge.”
