President Joe Biden‘s administration is endorsing the Senate’s move to take up a bipartisan border security agreement, despite the fact the legislation isn’t likely to pass.
“From his first day in office, President Biden has called on Congress to fix our broken immigration system. That’s why he introduced a comprehensive immigration reform plan on day 1,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement on Monday morning. “And that’s why, earlier this year, his Administration reached a bipartisan agreement on the toughest and fairest set of reforms in decades.”
The support from the White House comes as Biden and Democrats are looking to appear proactive on border security, an issue that has been a political liability for the administration.
The statement comes after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) wrote a letter to his colleagues announcing the plan to vote on the bill initially negotiated by Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), and James Lankford (R-OK).
The legislation failed in the Senate earlier this year after only four Republicans voted to move forward with the bill while six Democrats voted against it, ensuring the measure fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance.
A second vote on the failed legislation will force lawmakers to go on the record on a politically complex issue ahead of the November election, while Republicans continue to highlight Biden’s challenges securing the border. Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) are seeking reelection in heavily Republican states, while Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bob Casey (D-PA), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) all face tough battles in key swing states for the presidential election.
“This bipartisan border legislation would deliver the significant policy changes, resources, and personnel needed to secure our border and make our country safer,” Jean-Pierre added. “We strongly support this legislation and call on every Senator to put partisan politics aside and vote to secure the border.”
Recent polling continues to indicate that immigration is a top concern for people. A RealClearPolitics polling average shows 62.4% disapprove of Biden’s handling of immigration. The White House has attempted to keep the focus on congressional Republicans who came out against a bipartisan border bill, which included some of the most strict border security measures in years, ahead of the November election.
Biden continues to slam Republicans over their move to block the bill on the campaign trail.
“After months, we finally came up with the strongest border bill, the most comprehensive immigration reform in decades,” Biden said at a fundraiser in California earlier this month. “The majority of the House and Senate members strongly support this. But politics derailed it.”
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The White House is currently considering issuing an executive action that would restrict the ability of migrants to seek asylum at the border if they crossed the border illegally, which is similar to a Trump-era policy.
In April, Border Patrol recorded more than 128,000 migrant encounters between ports of entry, which is down from 137,480 in March, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. Some believe the decrease in crossings has to do with Mexico’s push to block smuggling and movement to the border and engaging in joint enforcement measures along the southern border.
