In a desperate political move, former President Donald Trump is making false claims about halting all movement between the US and Mexico. This strategic move aims to persuade lawmakers to reject a bipartisan proposal seeking to enhance President Joe Biden’s authority to address illegal border crossings.
On Monday, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to assert that he successfully stopped all crossings between the US and Mexico without relying on what he termed a “big, complex Democrat-oriented Border Bill” during his administration. He claimed having had the “Safest Border in the History of our Country” by simply closing the border. Trump, however, provided no evidence for his claim that individuals seeking asylum are “pouring” into the US “from jails and mental institutions located all over the World.”
Labeling the situation as an “INVASION,” Trump argued its unsustainability and unaffordability, predicting it would “only get worse” if Biden continued in office. Simultaneously, he reiterated his claim that immigration and asylum reform legislation is unnecessary, citing his implementation of controversial policies during his term, such as separating parents from their children for illegal entry prosecution.
“It is an INVASION the likes of which no Country has ever had to endure. It is not sustainable or affordable,” he wrote, adding that the situation would “only get worse” if Mr Biden were to remain in office. At the same time, Mr Trump repeated his claim that immigration and asylum reform legislation is unnecessary because he was able to implement widely-panned harsh policies during his term, such as forcibly separating parents from their children to prosecute the parents for illegal entry into the US.
Senate-led talks on a compromise bill, rumored to grant the president the authority to close the border and halt asylum claims processing if over 5,000 people daily attempt to present themselves to border patrol officers, have been ongoing. Republicans involved argue the bill is a necessary response to unlawful crossings, while Biden has committed to signing any bipartisan immigration bill that reaches his desk.
Despite these efforts, Trump and House GOP allies are maneuvering to derail the border bill. Their opposition stems from concerns that the legislation might prevent Trump from leveraging the entry of non-white migrants as an election-year issue against Biden.
In another Truth Social post, Trump dismissed the compromise bill, claiming it is unnecessary to stop the influx of millions of people into the US. He criticized Democrats for framing the GOP’s opposition to the bill as an attempt to shift blame for the border crisis onto Republicans.
The White House responded with a memo from spokesperson Andrew Bates, highlighting the inconsistency of House Speaker Mike Johnson’s stance. Bates pointed out that Johnson, formerly supportive of similar presidential authority proposals, now deems the current one “dead on arrival.” Trump’s own past endorsement of congressional action to secure the border was also highlighted, emphasizing a shift in the GOP’s position on the matter.
