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- cross-posted to:
- [email protected]
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.
To add a different anecdotal perspective for you: I live in Texas and work in the construction industry. I work alongside undocumented workers every single day. Jump in the truck “Home Depot Handymen” exist but they are not nearly as prevalent as you seem to believe.
What most of the guys are doing is getting their hands on some form of fake documentation. Employers are obliged to look the other way until it becomes a problem and so the worker is pretty much employed the same as anyone else. They receive benefits, they pay taxes, they work longer hours than anyone else.
Like I said in my comment, I’ve met very few undocumented immigrants. And realistically, if they can perform a job as a normal person, and pay taxes like a normal person, then even if I have met more, I likely never knew, because why would you go around telling folks about your situation in that case. That’d be a good way to blow your cover. And it’s not like I’m going to ask about their experience immigrating, since that’s not really a subject that’s appropriate to approach with people you don’t know.
I live in the middle of nowhere, so my experience is likely vastly different from all y’all’s. So it’s nice to hear your perspectives. Thanks for sharing.