By Ted Hesson
(Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden has “limited options” to boost security at the U.S.-Mexico border through executive action, a Democratic lawmaker said on Sunday, arguing the issue should be addressed with legislation in Congress.
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, the leading Democrat who negotiated a bipartisan border security bill introduced this year, said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” that U.S. courts would likely strike down Biden’s sweeping action.
“The president has such limited ability to issue executive orders that would impact the border. He can’t conjure resources out of thin air,” Murphy said. “If he tried to close off parts of the border, I think the courts would throw that out in a few weeks.”
Biden, a Democrat seeking another term in the Nov. 5 election, has said his administration is considering executive action to potentially block migrants at the border after Republicans rejected the bipartisan Senate bill this year. Republicans rejected the measure after former President Donald Trump, Biden’s Republican challenger, opposed it.
Senate Republicans blocked the bill again last week, and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said it “does not secure the border” and “encourages further illegal immigration.”
The number of migrants caught illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border has fallen this year compared to a monthly record in December, a trend U.S. officials attribute in part to increased enforcement by Mexico.
Murphy said the decline was due to “smart, effective diplomacy between the United States and the Mexican government,” but warned that the decline may not be permanent and that the number of illegal crossings remains high compared to a decade ago.
“We have to recognize that without updating the laws of this country, without sending more resources to the border, we cannot count on the numbers staying as low as they are now,” Murphy said.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean Pierre said last week that the Senate bill would provide “significant policy changes, resources and personnel needed to secure our border and make our country safer.”
Migrants and asylum seekers are traveling through Mexico to the US to escape violence, economic hardship and the negative impacts of climate change, the United Nations said.
(Reporting by Ted Hesson in Philadelphia; Editing by Mary Milliken)
