The Biden administration is considering implementing executive actions to stem the flow of migration in the U.S. southern border, NBC News reported on Thursday.
Even though the plan has been under consideration for months, it's been brought back to fore following the impasse reached in Congress, where Republicans rejected the bipartisan deal negotiated by members of their party and Democrats shortly after the bill was released.
Officials told the outlet that even if the measures do not appear to be decisive in the goal, doing nothing is not an option. They did clarify that any action taken can't be compared to what it could have been done had Congress reached a deal.
"Congressional Republicans chose to put partisan politics ahead of our national security and voted against what border agents have said they need. No regulatory actions would accomplish what the bipartisan national security agreement would have done for border security and the immigration system at large," said the White House in a statement.
Biden has gone on the offensive ever since it became clear that the border security bill wouldn't be passed, singling out former President Donald Trump as the main responsible for blocking what he said would have been "the toughest, fairest law." He added that Trump would "rather weaponize this issue than actually solve it.
Even though the president could face some backlash within his own party for implementing the measures, the outlet said, other factions could welcome it, both for the political effect and the one on the ground, especially Democratic mayors in communities near the southern border.
Moving forward, Democratic senators are pushing ahead with the other parts of the broader package, seeking to approve wartime aid for Ukraine and Israel without the border part of the bill.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who was among the few Republicans who supported the border provisions, backed the modified initiative.
"There are other parts of this supplemental they're extremely important as well — Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan," McConnell said. "We still, in my view, ought to tackle the rest of it because it's important. Not that the border isn't important, but we can't get an outcome. So that's where I think we ought to head, and it's up to Senator Schumer to decide how to repackage this, if in fact we don't go on to it."
The bill includes roughly $60 billion un Ukraine aid and some $17.6 billion for Israel, both aimed at helping the countries in their respective wars with Russia and Hamas. It is not clear whether the new plan will garner support from enough Republicans, many of whom still insist on focusing on the border before addressing any other issues.
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