Joe Biden is not the most popular president when it comes to his immigration policies. He ran on a platform of forgiveness and finding a pathway to citizenship for DREAMers, a policy change that appealed to the hearts of many progressive liberals. Since taking office, though, he seems to have made misstep after misstep when it comes to the border crisis, and individuals from both sides of the aisle are not thrilled.
Dual Legislation Out of Congress
Most recently, Joe Biden supported dual legislation that passed out of committee in the Senate that would have tied border and immigration reform to funding for Ukraine and our allies in Israel. The border bill was the first bipartisan legislation that managed to pass out of committee in some time, but Republicans, unfortunately, killed the bill before it could make it to the floor for a vote.
The legislation was not perfect, but it was a solid bipartisan effort that was put towards addressing the crisis at the Southern border. Still, hardliners on both sides were unhappy with the bill, with liberals claiming that it treated undocumented immigrants too harshly, and conservatives saying that it didn’t go far enough.
Biden’s Significant Accomplishments
The content of the bill is not the only thing that people had an issue with, either. Biden has made some significant policy adjustments in his time as president, passing a historic infrastructure bill as well as the first gun control legislation in decades.
Given the slate of accomplishments that the administration has managed to achieve, there are some who have wondered exactly why he’s taken so long to try and address the issue at the border. They see him working hard for so-called “social” issues like student loan debt and healthcare reform, so why hasn’t he put more effort towards solving such an existential crisis as the overwhelmed American immigration system?
Hannity Commenting on the Border
Conservative talk personalities have wondered about this exact question in the years since Biden took office. Most recently, Sean Hannity has taken to the internet to question why the Biden administration is now considering executive action to deal with the border crisis, rather than working on legislation that everyone is happy with.
Hannity used this opportunity and his platform to slam Biden for being “late,” echoing the sentiments of many other people on the internet. The post, which linked to writings on Hannity’s personal website, read, “YOU’RE LATE, JOE!”
Biden “Finally” Considering Action
The post reported that the Biden administration was “finally” considering executive action to deal with the border crisis. Of course, this ignores the Biden administration’s previous attempts to address parts of the border crisis with executive legislation, all of which were struck down by various United States appeals courts.
Other news sources elaborated a little bit further on the issue, explaining that the administration is considering executive action in light of the fact that, in a heavily divided Congress, it’s appearing less and less likely that any significant legislation will make it past the hardliners on either side of the aisle.
Addressing a Significant Issue
The White House is considering executive action in order to address the issue before rises in illegal immigration occur, which is projected to happen this year. Levels could rise above even what was seen in December of 2023, where illegal crossings hit record levels of over 10,000 individuals per day.
Unfortunately, unilateral measures such as executive action makes many, particularly on the left side of the aisle, uncomfortable. There’s a reason that Biden’s former attempts at executive action have all been struck down in the court system; people don’t like the president being able to take action on the border without having input from all sides of the issue.
Democratic Mayors Could Use Some Relief
Congress are not the only people who have an opinion on the issue, though. Democratic mayors in cities that have seen a great influx of migrants – particularly New York and San Francisco in California – have expressed that some relief to the tide of new arrivals might be welcome.
It is feedback like this that is making the Biden administration consider executive action. While the immigration system is clearly dysfunctional, it doesn’t appear that a legislative fix is on the immediate horizon. In the meantime, something still has to be done about the border crisis.
Twitter Users Chiming In
Many users on X, formerly known as Twitter, responded to Hannity’s post, agreeing with him. The general consensus seemed to be that Joe Biden is “too weak” to manage the border crisis, and that he wants more funding to appropriate to “sanctuary cities.”
Many people seemed to think that were Biden to take executive action on the border, he would actually make the problem worse, rather than better. And still others resorted to an old tactic, calling Biden too old to do the job, with one user saying that it was “past his bedtime.”
All Quiet on the Biden Front
Biden has not responded to these allegations about his age or ability to do the job in the wake of the news about executive action. If these plans come to fruition, they’re still some weeks and months away, while the executive legislation is being drafted.
And, frankly, the fact of the matter is that in regards to an issue as hotly debated and contested as the border crisis, there is very little that Biden could do that would appease both sides of the aisle. This became clear in the last several weeks when bipartisan legislation regarding the border failed, so Biden is, unfortunately, in a place where he has to make a decision for the good of the country.
Watching Biden Closely
Many people, political experts and commentators alike, will be watching Biden closely to see what he does regarding the border. Multiple appeals and different legislations are currently making their way through state and federal legislatures and courts, all trying to address different angles of the same issue.
The border is, unfortunately, simply a complex issue. There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to addressing the American immigration crisis, and until Congress decides that working together is more important than complaining about partisanship, the job of dealing with the border will, necessarily, fall on the President of the United States.
