Sen. Chris Murphy accused Republicans of intentionally blocking a bipartisan immigration bill in order to fuel the crisis at the border because it aids Donald Trump‘s campaign for the presidency.
“They want the border to be out of control because it helps [Trump] politically, and they know [Biden] has limits to what he can do through executive order,” the Democratic senator said Sunday on ABC’s This Week.
Earlier this month, Senate Republicans torpedoed a bill supported by U.S. Border Patrol intended to reduce the number of undocumented migrants eligible to claim asylum in a 49-50 vote. Sixty votes were needed for it to pass. Republicans in the House declared the bill a non-starter. The legislation additionally included billions in aid for Israel and Ukraine that later passed, without immigration measures.
“I think Democrats need to go on the offense on this question of controlling the border,” Murphy said. “The fact of the matter is, we did achieve a bipartisan compromise. It will give the president new powers to get the border under control, and Donald Trump killed it. Donald Trump and the Republicans decided that they want the border to be chaotic.”
Republicans have accused Biden of failing to act to reduce the number of undocumented border crossings, but Murphy pointed out that Biden’s hands are tied without legislation from Congress. “The reality is President Biden needs that legislation because it is just not true that he has the existing authority to issue executive actions that get the border under control,” Murphy said.
“The bipartisan bill [that Republicans blocked] had $20 billion of new resources,” the senator continued. “[Biden] can’t conjure $20 billion with an executive order that that bill gave him to shut down the border in between the ports of entry. I don’t think he can do that by executive action.”
Murphy pointed out that the border was far from under control while Trump was in office, noting that undocumented crossings reached a 10-year high in 2019. In 2023, however, that number had nearly doubled, driven by climate change, crime, and political crises in Latin American countries.
“Only the Democrats support pathways to citizenship, support expanding legal pathways into the country, and a tough border law,” the senator said. “Republicans used the issue of immigration to try and divide us from each other, and now, are on the record opposing the toughest border reform bill, the toughest border security bill in decades.”