Report Shows Biden’s Plan for Executive Order to Close Border

President Joe Biden reportedly plans to announce executive action that would allow him to close the U.S.-Mexico border when the number of immigrants entering the United States reaches 4,000 per day.

According to a New York Post report on Wednesday, the timing of when Biden would issue the order remains unclear, but a source close to the White House suggested that it would be tied to a provision in a bipartisan bill rejected by the Senate in February. This provision would have given Biden the authority to start deporting migrants once daily border crossings reached 4,000.

The proposed bill would have required deportations to be ordered if illegal entries exceeded 5,000 per day for a week.

The White House has not commented on the potential executive order from Biden.

In April, Customs and Border Patrol stopped an average of nearly 6,000 migrants daily, according to federal reports.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has been urging Biden to take action on the border.

A spokeswoman for Johnson told The Post that this order would show that Biden “doesn’t need Congress to pass legislation to take action on the border,” despite Biden’s previous statements in January that a border bill needed to be passed before he could act on illegal immigration.

Last month, Biden mentioned that the White House is exploring the possibility of issuing an order to raise the “critical fear” standard for those seeking asylum.

In February, Biden also considered executive action to prevent migrants who crossed the border between ports of entry from obtaining asylum, while also removing other migrants if crossings met a certain threshold, as reported by Politico.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is reportedly considering reviving the border bill, as per a source close to the issue. Speaking on the Senate floor on Wednesday, Schumer emphasized the need for real, bipartisan action to address the border crisis.

However, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., one of the original negotiators for the failed bipartisan bill, expressed skepticism about the seriousness of the Democrats’ efforts to revive negotiations.

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., who voted against the initial bill, criticized the potential revival as a “cheap election year ploy” and called on Schumer to persuade Biden to reinstate former President Donald Trump’s border policies.

Johnson also called out Schumer and Senate Democrats for not taking action on legislation that passed in the House, including the End the Border Catastrophe Act, which addresses key issues related to border security.