In a matter of irony only possible in American politics, Republican lawmakers impeached Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas for “a reckless abandonment of border security and immigration enforcement” on Feb. 13, despite them abandoning bipartisan legislation to curb illegal immigration and bolster legal migration just a week earlier. This legislation, sponsored by Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ind-Ariz.), would have given U.S. President Joe Biden authority to shut down the border, raise the standard for making asylum claims, disincentivize illegal crossings and provide more funding for immigration agencies. Many considered these policies a move to the right by Biden and the Democratic Party.
Republicans, who have long relied on the issue of immigration to win elections, now have to produce an explanation for the American people as to why they blocked legislation that had bipartisan support. While Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has claimed the deal would let “5,000 people illegally invade our country every day,” that is unsurprisingly not true. The real reason why Republicans blocked the legislation is clear: They’re trying to win in 2024. Former U.S. President Donald Trump, the likely Republican nominee for president, is relying on immigration as a key issue for his 2024 campaign. This deal would give Biden the offensive on the issue, leading Trump to direct Republican lawmakers to reject the agreement. While playing politics with the border shows just how flawed American politics are, it is the unfortunate reality in the United States.
However, Republicans rejecting the deal has only given Biden further political capital on the issue. He was quick to take advantage of the bill’s defeat, telling reporters he blamed Trump for sinking the legislation. Additionally, though Biden’s December 2023 approval rating for handling immigration was just 29%, many campaign experts and pundits believe the moment will allow him to make up ground on the issue of immigration. However, he should do more than just campaign with his current political capital. To address the border crisis and improve his election prospects, Biden should take steps to mitigate uncontrolled border crossings while providing opportunities for migrants seeking a better life.
Without the support of Congress, Biden’s options are limited. However, there are ways he can reduce illegal immigration while providing support for legal immigration into the United States. For example, he can issue an executive order that requires asylum claims be made only at ports of entry. While this would create backups at these ports, it would slow down the rates of people crossing the border, which reached nearly 10,000 people per day in December 2023. Additionally, it would allow the government to concentrate personnel responsible for processing asylum seekers to just official ports. To offset the difficulty this would place on migrants, the administration can expand a process known as parole sponsorship. This program allows sponsors to support beneficiaries, who can travel to and work in the United States legally for two years. The Department of Homeland Security’s announcement of an expanded parole sponsorship program at the start of the year correlated with a 40% reduction in migrant encounters at the border.
Unfortunately, artificial low caps on the number of migrants eligible for this program, as well as the limited number of country partnerships — just five countries, Ukraine, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela are eligible — are preventing the policy from playing a significant role in addressing the crisis at the border. To address this, the Biden administration could raise the caps and expand the program to other key countries, all without authorization from Congress. Additionally, while parole sponsorship does not provide a direct path to citizenship, the Biden administration can automatically give parolees Temporary Protected Status at the end of their parole, allowing them to apply for citizenship, something they have already done for Ukrainian migrants. Through augmenting parole sponsorships, the Biden administration can take substantive action and limit chaos at the border while providing effective paths for legal immigration to the United States.
As election season approaches, we, as voters, must rise above the empty rhetoric. While Biden will certainly play the offensive on immigration, citing Trump’s block, we must understand that without effective action, he is no more preferable than the former president. Campaigning on Trump’s lack of action while also not taking action is hypocritical. If Biden wants to prove to the American people that he is the better candidate, he can start by taking steps at the border. As students at Emory University, but more importantly as voters in Georgia, we should assess each candidate on policy action, not on rhetoric or false promises. We should not give Trump credit for bettering immigration, but without concrete action, we should not give Biden credit either.
Trump’s intervention may have given Biden an opening on the issue of immigration. However, unless Biden takes this moment to address the situation at the border with effective policy, his opening will have been wasted. Regardless of his election chances, Biden should not play politics with the millions of migrants searching for a better life at the border. For the sake of our country, he must continue to fight for legislation in Congress. In the meantime, there are concrete steps Biden can take to address the border crisis. If he does not, we as voters must take notice.
Pierce McDade (25Ox) is from Bloomington, Ill.
