NEW YORK POST
WASHINGTON — President Biden claimed Tuesday that “I’ve done all I can do” to secure the US-Mexico border — prompting House Speaker Mike Johnson to say that was “simply not true.”
“I’ve done all I can do. Just give me the power. I’ve asked from the very day I got into office,” the 81-year-old president told a reporter on the White House lawn as he departed for a fundraising jaunt to South Florida.
“Give me the Border Patrol, give me the people, the judges — give me the people who can stop this and make it work right,” he added.
Johnson (R-La.) fired back on X, “That is simply untrue. He’s either lying or misinformed.”
The speaker added: “Here are just a few of the authorities at his disposal – if only he would use them: • Presidential Authority to Restrict Entry 212(f) • Expedited Removal 235(b)(1) • Discretionary Detention Authority 236(a) • Mandatory Detention 236(c). No more excuses.”
Biden’s claim that Republicans are preventing border security reflects White House messaging as conservatives, including Johnson, express resistance to the reported details of legislation being discussed in bipartisan Senate talks — which critics say could actually worsen the crisis by drawing more migrants to the US.
Johnson said Friday that any new restrictions in the potential Senate deal could be ignored by Biden and added that the president should “demonstrate his good faith by taking immediate actions to secure” the border.
Biden, who conceded earlier this month that the border is not secure and said that “massive changes” are needed, ran for president in 2020 vowing to rescind former President Donald Trump’s hardline border policies.
On his first day in office, Biden halted construction of Trump’s US-Mexico border wall and later ended his predecessor’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, which required most asylum seekers to await rulings on their claims of persecution while south of the border.
