House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Sunday declined to give the Biden administration credit for its actions at the U.S. southern border, ahead of his expected executive order to crack down on illegal immigration.
Biden will reportedly sign an executive order this week that will address immigration and border security, amid bipartisan criticism over his handling of the situation at the border, NewsNation reported last week, citing a border community leader who requested anonymity asked. NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.
When asked on “Fox News Sunday” if Biden should get credit for taking steps on border security after months of requests from Johnson, Johnson said: “I don’t… it’s too little too late now .”
“He is desperately trying to show the American people that he wants to tackle the issue he created,” Johnson continued. “We have documented 64 specific actions by President Biden and the Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorka’s at DHS [Department of Homeland Security] It took three and a half years, starting on the first day President Biden opened the border. They did it deliberately, it has had catastrophic consequences for our country that we will live with for decades.”
Johnson and House Republicans have repeatedly deplored the Biden administration’s border policies, arguing that they have contributed to the massive influx of migrants into the US and the spread of fentanyl in the country. In January, Johnson’s office released a list of 64 cases showing that the Biden administration “undermined border security policies and encouraged illegal immigration.”
The reported executive order would come after months of pushing from Johnson in the wake of repeated border legislation that has failed to get through Congress.
The Associated Press reported last week that the White House is finalizing plans for the order that would halt asylum applications and automatically deny entry to migrants once the number of people U.S. border officials encountered exceeded a new daily threshold. Biden could sign the executive order as early as Tuesday, the news report added, citing four people familiar with the matter.
Johnson argued that Biden is only taking initiative on the issue because of recent polls suggesting immigration is of paramount importance to Americans.
“And now he wants to issue some kind of executive order, I think to show that he really cares about the issue. The only reason he’s doing that is because the polls say this is the biggest problem in America,” Johnson said.
“And the first question that comes up in almost every public forum is what about that open border and why on earth would President Biden allow it? He did more than allow it, he designed it and everyone knows it,” he added.
The Hill contacted the White House for comment.
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