Biden promotes bipartisan border security bill
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about his bipartisan border security bill today at the Brownsville Border Patrol Station. The bill would provide funding for personnel, infrastructure and inspection machines at ports of entry, such as those in Brownsville.
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During his border visit in Brownsville today, U.S. President Joe Biden advocated for his bipartisan border security bill, which he says is “the toughest, most efficient” the country has ever seen.
The bill outlines investments in infrastructure, which would provide $4 billion “to boost security” and “ease waiting time” at ports of entry, such as those in Brownsville.
Biden delivered his remarks inside the Brownsville Border Patrol Station and said “it’s long past time to act,” citing the “tough conditions” for immigration enforcement and asylum officers at the border.
“On my first day as president, I introduced a bill,” the president said. “I sent to Congress a comprehensive plan to fix the broken immigration system and to secure the border, but no action was taken.
“Then, months ago, my team began a serious negotiation with a bipartisan group of senators … and it resulted in a compromised bill that’s the toughest set of border security reforms we’ve ever seen in this country.”
If passed, the bill would allow the hiring of 1,500 additional border security agents, 100 immigration judges and 4,300 asylum officers.
Currently, border patrol agents spend “long hours patrolling,” Biden said.
“That’s why, in December, I signed a bill finally getting border patrol agents [the] overtime pay they deserve,” he said. “It’s ridiculous it took this long. It’s time to step up, provide them with significantly more personnel and capability. We also need more immigration judges to help handle the backlog … of 2 million cases.”
The bill also outlines a “new, efficient and fair process for the government to consider asylum claims for those arriving on [the] border,” according to Biden.
He said with new policies outlined in the bill, the process of considering asylum claims, which currently takes five to seven years, can be reduced to less than six months.
Aside from more personnel, the bill would provide an additional $424 million for 100 inspection machines, which can detect people and things, such as fentanyl and weapons, being smuggled in cargo containers.
“This compromised bill would also give me, as president, or any of the next presidents, emergency authority to temporarily shut down the border between points of entry when the numbers of immigrants and migrants overwhelm the border, straining the border patrol’s ability to process them.”
The bill, which Biden said was in the U.S. Senate and on its way to being passed, was initially derailed by partisan politics.
“[The] U.S. Senate needs to reconsider this bill and those senators who oppose it need to set politics aside and pass it on merits, not on whether it’s going to benefit one party,” he said. “The majority of Democrats and Republicans in both houses supported this legislation until someone came along and said, ‘Don’t do it. It will benefit the incumbent.’ That’s a hell of a way to do business in America for such a serious problem. We need to act.”
Biden ended his remarks with a message to former U.S. President Donald Trump, who made a similar visit to the border in Eagle Pass alongside Texas Gov. Greg Abbott today.
Trump and Abbott “toured portions of Texas’ comprehensive border security operations at Shelby Park and discussed the unprecedented actions taken by Texas to secure the border,” according to the governor’s news release, which can be found online at gov.texas.gov/news.
“Instead of telling members of Congress to block this legislation, join me, or I’ll join you, in telling the Congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill,” Biden said. “We can do it together. … Let’s remember who the heck we work for. We work for the American people, not the Democratic party, not the Republican party.”
Brownsville Mayor John Cowen Jr. speaks after U.S. President Joe Biden delivered remarks about his bipartisan border security bill today at the Brownsville Border Patrol Station in Olmito. Earlier tonight, Cowen held a city news conference to discuss Brownsville’s migrant management framework and the president’s visit.
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Earlier tonight, Brownsville Mayor John Cowen Jr., who joined Biden during his remarks, hosted a news conference to discuss Biden’s visit and the city’s framework for migrant management.
“At the heart of this strategy is a humanitarian approach that prioritizes dignity and care for every individual,” Cowen said.
The mayor said Biden’s visit was impactful and that it is important to ensure the engagement and conversation about needs at the border continues.
Odee Ann Leal, director of the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, said the Brownsville Model for migrant management, which is funded by FEMA, “ensures that every single noncitizen migrant that comes through our city is assisted for their onward travel.”
Odee Ann Leal, director of the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, speaks at a city news conference held earlier tonight to discuss Brownsville’s migrant management framework and U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit. Leal said the Brownsville Model for migrant management, which is funded by FEMA, “ensures that every single noncitizen migrant that comes through our city is assisted for their onward travel.” The conference was livestreamed on the city’s YouTube channel.
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“They are able to contact family members to be able to purchase tickets for either flight or bus,” she said. “If they’re having to stay overnight in the city of Brownsville, they either get a hotel and if there’ s capacity at our … shelter, they’re able to stay there.”
Brownsville’s efforts in migrant management is supported by a network of partners, including the U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, local law enforcement, the Brownsville Good Neighbor Settlement House, Team Brownsville, Ozanam Center and Iglesia Bautista West Brownsville.
