President Biden issued permits to several Texas cities on Monday allowing them to “expand and continue to maintain” their border crossings.
Biden’s order impacts the Texas cities of Laredo, Eagle Pass and Brownsville. The border crossings include the bridges that span the Rio Grande, allowing vehicular and pedestrian traffic to cross to and from the U.S. and Mexico.
The permits are a preview of Biden’s plans for the border as he is expected to issue a series of executive orders on the issue this week.
Details of what will be announced remain unclear. Some outlets reported that it could involve a mechanism to prevent additional migrant entries into the U.S. once there is a rolling seven-day average of more than 4,000 apprehensions a day.
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That plan would likely be similar to the one proposed in a sweeping bipartisan Senate bill that was unveiled earlier this year. The bill has backing from the Biden administration but has so far failed to drum up enough support to pass. The legislation would create a Title-42 style expulsion authority that would allow agents to quickly remove migrants across the border.
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Biden could attempt to implement such an authority by executive order using 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows presidents to limit the entry of foreign nationals into the U.S.
The Biden administration has repeatedly said its hands are largely tied regarding fixing what it admits is a “broken” immigration system. The White House has called for additional reforms and funding from Congress.
Republicans have blamed the policies of the administration, including the rollback of Trump-era policies such as wall construction, the Migrant Protection Protocols and increased interior enforcement. They have passed their own legislation in the House that would significantly limit asylum claims and restart border wall construction and similar measures. It has not yet been taken up by the Senate.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on “Fox News Sunday” said the reported action from Biden is “too little too late.”
Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report
