The White House statement comes after a week of frantic negotiations in the Senate.

President Joe Biden on Friday urged Congress to pass a bipartisan bill to address the immigration crisis at the nation’s southern border, saying he would shut down the border the day the bill became law.

“What’s been negotiated would — if passed into law — be the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we’ve ever had in our country,” Biden said in a statement. “It would give me, as President, a new emergency authority to shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed. And if given that authority, I would use it the day I sign the bill into law.”

Biden’s Friday evening statement resembles a ramping up in rhetoric for the administration, placing the president philosophically in the camp arguing that the border may hit a point where closure is needed. The White House’s decision to have Biden weigh in also speaks to the delicate nature of the dealmaking, and the urgency facing his administration to take action on the border — particularly during an election year, when Republicans have used the issue to rally their base.

The president is also daring Republicans to reject the deal as it faces a make-or-break moment amid GOP fissures.

  • APassenger@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    When I see an article about busses bringing immigrants, I have often found a high ranked comment about human trafficking and alleging this was all done with lies. That the bussing is immoral.

    That was about a month ago.

    I took down votes then, too. Except then my point was that if I was an immigrant one of the last places I’d want to remain is south Texas. Give me that bus ticket to a blue state.

    It just looked like resentment that they were arriving in blue states and sanctuary cities. The same places that have long described immigrants as net positives.

    Edit: “objectively false” when I have the conversation history. This is why I point to the undeserved certainty to lemmy throws around on topics.

    • Evilcoleslaw@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      It just looked like resentment that they were arriving in blue states and sanctuary cities. The same places that have long described immigrants as net positives.

      I think it’s more that they’re being dropped off with no communication, coordination, planning, or notice at all. Just random bus loads of immigrants arriving in the night thinking there will be resources there to help them.

      Oh, and then you get the obvious PR moves like bus loads showing up unannounced at the Vice President’s official residence in the middle of the night during a time where the temperatures were dangerously low. It’s sick – just using immigrants as a PR stunt to “own the libs.”

      • APassenger@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        Significant portions of those involved on the thread were sure it was human trafficking. Spoke and voted that way.

        I’m not saying the stunt portion of bussing is okay. But finding a term that diminishes the agency of immigrants and makes their appearance in blue areas the act of unlawful human trafficking (a specific and high bar to cross)… It just seemed convenient that everything about the arrival of immigrants was wrong.

        I work with immigrants. They’re smart, capable and just want a shot at the dream. I’m not against immigration. I’m against lemmy seeming to find convenient reasons why it’s okay to happen until it happens nearby.

        Those threads are not hard to find.

        Texas is not responsible to house every immigrant that crosses the border. You didn’t say it, but others imply it.

    • SaltySalamander@kbin.social
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      11 months ago

      The bussing is immoral when they’re bussed into a town that isn’t expecting them and just dropped off. If Texas wants to coordinate the bussing with the destination cities/towns, fine do that. I have no problem with that. But when people are carted to a fucking Chicago suburb with no cold weather clothing in the dead of winter and just dropped the fuck off, how can you see that as anything but immoral?

      • APassenger@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        I’ve never said that all conditions of the bussing are moral. Only that bussing itself isn’t immoral. Or human trafficking (as is often posited).

        I’ve specifically said the stunt part isn’t cool. The bussing part… Can be.