GOP impedes stricter border measures.
Historically, Republicans have advocated for stricter border policies. However, during the election season, they are voting against actually implementing tighter border control measures. President Biden alleges that the Republicans are making strategic choices.
Another attempt to substantially modify immigration laws in the US Congress has met with failure. A vote in the Senate in Washington did not obtain enough backing to debate the immigration reform bill once more in the chamber of Congress. While President Joe Biden endorses the changes, some Democrats voted against the bill independently of the Republicans, making it impossible to reach a majority decision.
Interestingly, the reforms had been drafted through a joint committee comprising of Democrats and Republicans, but the legislation failed in the Senate for the second time this year. Biden asserts that Republicans are scuppering the "toughest border policy in US history" for political gains.
A stricter border policy has been a Republican focus
Illegal immigration is amongst the most significant topics of the US presidential election campaign. Under Biden's administration, the number of migrants entering the country irregularly across the Mexican border has hit unprecedented levels. Former President Donald Trump and the Republicans have always emphasized the need for more stringent border policies and have criticized Biden for the uncontrollable infiltration.
Just as in past election campaigns, Trump is employing aggressive language against immigrants. He portrays them as a security threat and vows to secure the border. The Democrats, in turn, allege that Trump and the Republicans are hindering the proposal for stricter immigration laws, primarily to capitalize on the border's porousness politically and to claim a stricter border policy as their victory.
McConnell praises specifically designed plan
The Senate's Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, had participated in drawing up the now-failed immigration strategy and considered it a "substantial success." The plans envisioned a complete border closure as soon as more than 5,000 immigrants per week or 8,500 immigrants per day congregated at the border. They also prioritized additional border guards and enabled quicker detentions and deportations of immigrants, as detailed by the New York Times.
Nevertheless, the plans had been thwarted by the Senate after Trump stymied them in February. Before their latest failure, McConnell criticized the Democrats for reintroducing the arrangements in the House of Congress. He described their efforts as a "trick" to divert focus from Biden's deficient border policy performance.
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Source: www.ntv.de
