REVEALED: Joe Biden's migrant records since taking office as he prepares to sign executive order on immigration
- House Speaker Mike Johnson says Biden border order is 'too little, too late'
- READ: Illegal immigrant from Venezuela arrested for shooting two NYPD officers
After nearly eight million apprehensions at the southern border since taking office, President Joe Biden is finally prepared to execute an executive action this week that would address illegal immigration.
But with just five months until the 2024 presidential election, House Speaker Mike Johnson says it's 'too little, too late' and Republicans have called the move an election 'stunt'.
He also claims that despite plans for just one executive order hat could shut down the border, Biden and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have already enacted 64 other actions since January 2021 'to open the border.'
Illegal immigration and the crisis at the southern border remains a top issue for voters going into November – and Biden is looking to finally act after years of pressure to enact a crackdown.
Some estimates put the number of illegal immigrants living in the United States at more than 20 million. And the number of gotaways continue to elude even top immigration officials.
Customs and border Protection have apprehended more than 7.8 million migrants at the southern border since President Joe Biden took office
Biden's White House repeatedly claimed Congress needed to be the entity to stunt the record-breaking flow of illegal immigration at the southern border. But now the Democratic president is planning to announce an executive order as soon as Tuesday.
The action would represent the most restrictive border policies put forward by Biden and is reminiscent of former President Donald Trump's policies to block migration at the southern border – actions that were challenged in federal courts by Democrats.
Rep. Johnson (R-La.) on Sunday wouldn't give Biden any kudos for acting on immigration after three-and-a-half years of deflection and implementing policies counteractive to limiting migration.
When asked if Biden deserves credit for finally acting, the Speaker said: 'I don't … it's too little too late now.'
'He's trying to desperately show the American people that he wants to address the issue that he himself created,' Johnson told Fox News Sunday. 'We documented 64 specific actions that President Biden and Secretary [Alejandro Mayorkas] at [the Department of Homeland Security] took over … the course of three and a half years, beginning on the first day that President Biden [took office], to open the border.'
'They did it intentionally; it's had catastrophic effects upon our country that we'll be living with for decades to come,' he continued.
Several officials familiar with the matter told the Associated Press that Biden plans to enact in his executive order parts of the failed Senate border deal. This would include denying entrance to migrants at certain thresholds – like capping it when encounters reach 4,000 per day over the course of a week.
Other Republican lawmakers claim that the executive action is a 'stunt' and insist Biden is finally taking action because he was forced to face the reality of how important the border and illegal immigration is to voters heading to the polls in November.
'Don't be deceived by Biden's latest move on the border, which is nothing more than a political stunt,' Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) posted to X. 'He's trying to appear tough on immigration because he's losing ground in the polls.'
He added: 'Remember, he's already let in over 10 million illegal aliens, and his new executive order will likely lead to at least 1.5 million more illegal crossings in the next year.'
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) also wrote on X: 'This is an election-year stunt that won't distract voters from Joe Biden's disastrous, failed immigration policies.'
President Joe Biden plans to announce his most restrictive policies at the southern border through an executive order this week
The order could block illegal immigration at the southern border once apprehensions reach a certain threshold per day. Pictured: Members of the Texas National Guard installs border fencing with razor wire in El Paso on April 2
The authority the White House expects to use in the executive order comes from Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. That law provides presidents leeway in blocking entry of certain immigrants if it would be 'detrimental' to national interests.
Trump repeatedly leaned on that section of the law to shut-out certain groups of immigrants crossing into the U.S. illegally.
Previously the White House asked Congress to pass new laws to expand Biden's presidential authority over the border, but a bipartisan border deal failed to take off earlier this year.
Presidents using section 212(f) to restrict migration does not require congressional approval. But Biden has repeatedly said he wants new laws from Congress to fix the border.
It appears the White House has decided that they can go it alone, as Republicans have charged, after the Senate deal failed twice.
Johnson argued on Sunday that Biden is only taking initiative on the border issue because recent polling suggests immigration is of top concern for Americans.
'Now he wants to issue some sort of executive order, I guess to show that, 'Oh he really does care about the issue.' The only reason he's doing that is because the polls say that it's the biggest issue in America,' Johnson told Fox News.
