President Joe Biden asked legislators to work together on the issue of immigration reform during his State of the Union (SOTU) speech on Feb. 7.
"Let’s also come together on immigration and make it a bipartisan issue like it was before," Biden said. "We now have a record number of personnel working to secure the border, arresting 8,000 human smugglers and seizing over 23,000 pounds of fentanyl in just the last several months. Since we launched our new border plan last month, unlawful migration from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela has come down 97%.
"But America’s border problems won’t be fixed until Congress acts," Biden continued. "If you won’t pass my comprehensive immigration reform, at least pass my plan to provide the equipment and officers to secure the border. And a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, those on temporary status, farm workers and essential workers."
Biden's immigration reform plan, the U.S. Citizenship Act, was proposed on the day that he took office in 2021. The bill's three key goals are to "provide pathways to citizenship and strengthen labor protections," "prioritize smart border controls" and "address root causes of migration."
"The bill allows undocumented individuals to apply for temporary legal status, with the ability to apply for green cards after five years if they pass criminal and national security background checks and pay their taxes," according to the White House, also saying that the bill will both stimulate the economy and ensure the protection of every worker.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a major shortage in America's labor supply. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are currently 95.4 million Americans defined as eligible workers aged 16 and older who are categorized as "not looking for a job."
The New York Post reported that Biden removed former President Donald Trump's 2018 Zero Tolerance policy, which prosecuted illegal border crossings and focused on unifying parents with their children. NBC News reported that, following a June 2022 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, Biden was also allowed to reverse Trump's "Remain in Mexico" policy, which required immigrants seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border to stay in Mexico until a later decision was made.
Later in his SOTU address, Biden spoke about the opioid epidemic and the fact that "fentanyl is killing more than 70,000 Americans a year." Following this statement, a number of Republicans shouted at Biden to "close the border," to which the president replied, "You got it."
On Feb. 7, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability held a hearing titled "On the Front Lines of the Border Crisis: A Hearing With Chief Patrol Agents." During the hearing, Committee Chairman and U.S. Rep. James Comer (R-KY), as well as other Republicans, outlined how the Biden administration had allegedly created the worst border crisis in U.S. history.
"It sounds like the cartels are taking advantage of historically high flow of illegal immigration to overwhelm border patrol agents’ resources, place migrants in peril and undermine border security by introducing deadly narcotics, criminals and terrorists into our country," Comer said. "It’s unfortunate then that President Biden’s administration removed many of the deterrent policies that were working to reduce the flow of illegal border crossings and keep cartels in check. For two years, we’ve watched a crisis unfold with little oversight. No longer."
In December, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported that it had encountered 204,155 migrants throughout the month of November.
In January, during his first trip to the Southern border as president, Biden visited the city of El Paso, Texas, according to PBS News Hour. On the airport tarmac, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) met Biden to hand him a letter criticizing his border policies.
"The city you visit has been sanitized of the migrant camps, which had overrun downtown El Paso because your administration wants to shield you from the chaos that Texans experience on a daily basis," Abbott wrote. "This chaos is the direct result of your failure to enforce the immigration laws that Congress enacted.
"America is suffering the worst illegal immigration in the history of our country," Abbott continued. "Your open-border policies have emboldened the cartels, who grow wealthy by trafficking deadly fentanyl and even human beings. Texans are paying an especially high price for your failure, sometimes with their very lives, as local leaders from your own party will tell you if given the chance.
"While securing the border is the federal government's responsibility, Texas will not sit idly by as this crisis grows," Abbott said in a quote published on his website. "Texas is responding with the most robust and comprehensive border plan the nation has ever seen."
