The president of United States, Joe Biden, expressed his willingness to close the border with Mexico immediately in case Congress presents an agreement that is being negotiated between Democrats and Republicans to address the immigration crisis.
During a political event in South Carolina this Saturday, Biden noted that the measure seeks to resolve the growing tensions in the country over the issue of immigration.
He stressed the urgency of a bipartisan project that allows “fixing the deteriorated immigration system” and offering an effective resolution to those who qualify to enter the United States.
He assures that this legislation would give him the authority as president to make the emergency decision to close the border with Mexico and control the situation immediately in response to the record numbers of arrests for unauthorized crossings.
The current proposal involves closing the border if there is a crossing of around 5,000 unauthorized immigrants in a single day. The figure seems large but it has already been greatly exceeded on several occasions during the last year.
The speaker of the House of Representatives, the Republican Mike Johnson, responded to the president's statements by assuring that no legislative action is needed to close the border and asked him to exercise his executive authority to "reverse the catastrophe he has created."
This debate arises in a context where immigration has become a critical concern for American voters ahead of the 2024 elections.
There is a notable increase in the percentage of Republicans and Democrats demanding attention to the issue. Illegal crossings have reached historic figures, highlighting the seriousness of the issue and the need for a concrete solution.
In January 2023, Biden approved changes in immigration policy which had the objective of stopping illegal immigration and creating legal channels for the arrival of immigrants to the United States. This is how programs such as humanitarian parole emerged that have benefited thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans.
However, arrests for unauthorized border crossings from Mexico reached an all-time high in December 2023.
The Border Patrol counted 249,785 arrests on the border with Mexico in December, 31% more than the 191,112 in November and 13% more than the 222,018 in December 2022, the previous all-time high.
In December 2023 more than 25 thousand Cubans entered the United States across land and sea borders. It is the highest figure since the end of 2022.
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