- President Trump said he would take responsibility for the potential collapse of the bipartisan border agreement.
- “There is zero chance that I would support this horrific betrayal of open borders,” he said Saturday.
- Mr. Trump and conservatives in Congress are instead calling on Mr. Biden to enforce the current law.
Former President Donald Trump said Saturday he is ready to take responsibility for potentially scrapping a bipartisan border agreement being considered by the Senate.
While on the campaign trail in Las Vegas, former President Trump voiced opposition to Congress' efforts to broker an immigration deal as he continues to attack President Joe Biden on the explosives issue.
“As the leader of our party, there is no chance that I would support this horrific open border betrayal of America,” the former president told his supporters. “I will fight to the end. Many senators respectfully want to say it's my fault.”
“I say, it's okay,” he continued. “Please blame me. Please.”
President Trump has long criticized Biden on immigration, insisting the U.S.-Mexico border is in a dangerous state given the record number of illegal immigrants entering the country and overwhelming enforcement agencies. I've been doing it. The Biden administration has sought to reverse many of President Trump's immigration policies, largely due to record immigration policies and backlash from Republican governors like Texas' Greg Abbott, who sent thousands of immigrants. Because of this, the president has repeatedly found himself in the middle of trouble. Number of immigrants to Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington.
Biden said Friday that if Congress passes a compromise bill that would “close” the U.S.-Mexico border if border traffic reaches alarming levels, the bill would “secure the border.” “This will be the toughest and fairest set of reforms to date.” in our country. “
“As president, you will have new emergency powers to close the border in the event the border becomes overwhelmed,” Biden said in a statement. “If given that authority, I would exercise it the day I signed the bill.”
But Trump, who has staked his 2024 campaign on immigration and remains the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, has rejected the proposal and wants Republican lawmakers to do the same.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, President Trump wrote, “A bad border deal is far worse than no border deal!”
A border security plan related to funding for Ukraine is being pushed through the Democratic-controlled Senate. But even if the bill passes, it would face fierce resistance among far-right conservatives in the Republican-run House. Louisiana House Speaker Mike Johnson wrote a letter Friday describing the proposed border bill as “dead on arrival” in the House.
President Trump said Saturday that it would be easy for Biden to secure the border and there was no need for Congress to pass additional legislation.
“We did it without a bill,” the former president said.
But former Texas Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke slammed President Trump on the issue in a recent CNN interview, insisting that the former president and his Republican allies have no intention of tackling border security.
“It's clear that Donald Trump and his Republican Party don't want a solution,” O'Rourke said Saturday. “Despite all the fuss about border chaos and ‘invasion,’ he and the Republican Party are extracting the best offer they can get from President Biden and Senate Democrats.”
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to uphold the federal government's authority to remove concertina wire along parts of the U.S.-Mexico border. But Mr. Abbott announced that Texas would install more wiring along the border.
