On Wednesday, January 3, 2024, United States House Speaker James Michael Johnson blamed President Joe Biden for the migrant disaster, saying that Biden has the power to remarkably reduce the record number of border crossings without action from Congress.
During a television interview, Johnson said that Biden began his term of office with executive orders that caused chaos.
“On his first day in office, President Biden came in and issued executive orders that began this chaos. ‘Remain in Mexico policy’ is one of them,” Johnson said.
The ‘Remain in Mexico policy’, officially called the Migrant Protection Protocols, was executed by the Trump administration in early 2019 to put off migration to the US-Mexico border. It needed the migrants seeking asylum in the US to wait in Mexico until their court dates.
However, Biden ended the policy immediately after taking office, saying that it was inhumane. After months of legal battles, federal courts ordered the government to reinstate it.
The Supreme Court ruled in June 2022 that the administration of Biden had the authority to end the programme, and it is no longer being executed.
Over time, the Mexican government has issued statements rejecting any proposed revival of Remain in Mexico.
During the interview, Johnson said that he was once told by a top US border patrol officer that providing logistical and financial support at the border through acts of Congress was like opening a large pipe of water to put out a fire outbreak.
There was a big drop in the number of migrants being processed at the border after the arrivals hit a record high in December 2023, which strained resources in some communities across the US.
The White House and a group of neutral senators have been negotiating a package that would make considerable changes to immigration and border security laws. The negotiations come as Republicans demand harsher policies in exchange for more aid to Ukraine.