The White House has thrown cold water on reports that an immigration-focused executive order could be in the works by the end of this month.
“There haven’t been any final decisions regarding what additional executive actions, if any, could be taken,” an administration official told the Washington Examiner. “As we do in all cases, the administration explores a series of policy options, that does not mean any particular policy option will ultimately come to pass.”
President Joe Biden said during an interview with Univision that he’s “examining whether or not I have that power” to issue an executive order to stem illegal immigration.
“There’s no guarantee that I have that power [to shut down the border] all by myself without legislation,” Biden said in an interview that aired Tuesday night. “Some have suggested I should just go ahead and try it. And if I get shut down by the court, I get shut down by the court. But we’re trying to work that, work through that right now.”
Axios reported the next morning that an executive order limiting immigration asylum claims is “likely” by the end of April. The order would use the president’s authority under Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which lets the president block entry to migrants if it would be “detrimental” to U.S. interests.
But Biden in the interview, and the White House on Wednesday, continued claiming it’s up to Republicans in Congress to secure the border.
“No executive action, no matter how aggressive, can deliver the significant policy reforms and additional resources Congress can provide and that Republicans rejected,” a White House spokesperson said. “We continue to call on [House] Speaker [Mike] Johnson (R-LA) and House Republicans to pass the bipartisan deal to secure the border.”
Biden claimed on Univision that former President Donald Trump “got on the phone” when he heard about the proposed border security bill to tell House Republicans, “Don’t be for it, it will benefit Biden.”
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While the president has repeatedly made that claim, House Republicans outlined their own issues with the bill at the time and Johnson called it dead on arrival.
The GOP says Biden is solely responsible for record illegal border crossings since he took office, pointing to the 90-plus executive actions he has taken to undo Trump’s border policies.