President Joe Biden has finally publicly admitted that the border is insecure and that a massive restructuring of immigration policy should be undertaken.
"No, it is not," the president responded Friday when questioned whether the border was secure following remarks he made to a bipartisan group of mayors in the East Room of the White House.
Biden's candor comes after, under his watch, the United States succumbed to the worst immigration crisis in its history, with hundreds of thousands of migrants crossing the southern border every month and then settling in major cities across the country. His statements directly contradict the questioned Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, who repeatedly stated that the border "is closed" and "secure."
During his speech, Biden also stated that he hoped Senate lawmakers would soon announce a compromise on immigration policy amid stalled negotiations to define the government's 2024 budget.
"I believe we need significant policy changes at the border, including changes to our asylum system to ensure that we have the authorities we need to control the border. I am ready to act," the president said. "Now the question is for the [House] Speaker [Mike Johnson] and House Republicans: are they ready to act as well?"
"They have to choose whether they want to solve a problem or continue to use the issue as a weapon to score political points against the president. I'm ready to solve the problem. I really am," the president continued, blaming Republicans for not reaching agreements on the fiscal budget. "Massive changes, and I mean it."
However, the stalemate in the budget negotiations rests on the inflexible positions of both parties, with Democrats and some moderate Republicans calling for continued support for Ukraine and hard-line Republicans calling for spending cuts, cutting foreign aid and increasing the border budget.
