President Biden’s Coalition Fractures Because of Those Opposing Any Effort to Stop the Crisis
Advocates in Congress for urgent border security changes are united in support of the positions endorsed by FAIR, while supporters of President Biden’s policies are in disarray. The fissures in the president’s political coalition were made apparent during debate over inclusion of language aimed at curbing the raging border crisis in the supplemental foreign aid package requested by the White House. FAIR is insisting that both asylum and parole law changes be included in any foreign aid (or other must-pass) bill.
Republicans, like South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who in the past has been willing to pair enforcement enhancements with amnesty for illegal aliens has made it clear: Not this time. Every Republican senator voted against moving forward with a foreign aid package that did not include, without any trade-offs on amnesty, strong legislative language on border enforcement, deterring asylum fraud, and ending the Biden administration’s abuse of parole authority.
This time it is congressional Democrats who are divided. Some on the party’s far left flank are reported to be livid with the president for even suggesting that he’d be willing to consider meaningful border security provisions in the foreign aid bill. President Biden opened the door by asking for $13.6 billion for what he termed border security in the bill. In reality, what he wanted was more money to process and release illegal aliens more quickly. FAIR and allies on Capitol Hill recognized that President Biden’s request for more funding for the border was an admission that more is needed and seized the opportunity to demand strong border security measures, like those in H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act.
Typical of Democrat comments were: “We are deeply concerned that the president would consider advancing Trump-era immigration policies that Democrats fought so hard against — and that he himself campaigned against — in exchange for aid to our allies that Republicans already support,” wrote Rep. Nanette Díaz Barragán (D-Calif.), who chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) in a joint statement. In other words, any return to common sense enforcement is a “Trump-era policy.”
Vox News confirmed the split within President Biden’s coalition over any effort to stop a border crisis of invasion proportions. The “politics of immigration have also changed for Democrats,” Vox notes. “[M]ore and more Democrats have grown uncomfortable with the border and asylum situation in the Biden years, which have featured a dramatic surge in border crossings and asylum requests.”
2023 ended without approval of a foreign aid package for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, which enjoys rare bipartisan support in Congress and is a priority for President Biden. In January, FAIR is front and center, urging allies in Congress to stand firm on the need to include language to detain and remove illegal aliens, curb asylum fraud, and end unlimited parole authority in the foreign aid package. Strong, vetted language to do that already exists in H.R. 2, the House-passed Secure the Border Act. Developments on this issue will be featured in upcoming editions of the FAIR newsletter.