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President Biden hinted in a new interview that aired Tuesday night that he is planning a possible executive order to effectively shut down the border by the end of the month.
Univision’s Enrique Acevedo asked the president if he had decided whether to issue an executive order, and Biden indicated that it may be on the table.
“Well, it’s suggested that we’re examining whether or not I have that power,” Biden replied. “I would have that power under the legislation when – when the border has over five, 500,000 people, 25,000 people a day trying to cross the border because you can’t manage it, slow it up. There’s no – there’s no guarantee that I have that power all by myself without legislation. And some have suggested I should just go ahead and try it. And if I get shut down by the court, I get shut down by the court. But we’re trying to work that work through that right now.”
Acevedo spoke to Biden in the Oval Office about various topics, including the border, student loans, NATO expansion and Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks.
BIDEN, DURING VISIT TO OVERWHELMED BORDER, URGES REPUBLICANS TO BACK SENATE BILL: ‘TIME TO ACT’
President Biden teased possible border action in a new Univision interview. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Care Can’t Wait Action)
On immigration, Acevedo referenced the controversial, but bipartisan, Senate border agreement, as Biden and his administration have sought to shift blame for the crisis onto Republicans’ shoulders.
Biden told Acevedo that the package, negotiated with Sen. James Lankford, whom the president categorized as a “very conservative Republican from Oklahoma,” would have paid for more Border Patrol agents to interview asylum seekers and machinery to detect fentanyl and other illegal drugs coming in.
Migrants stopped by Border Patrol at the U.S.-Mexico border in Campo, California, on Friday, April 5, 2024. (Mark Abramson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“It didn’t have everything I wanted. I told them I was going to go back and get Dreamers etc., but the thing it did do, it provided for a significant more personnel to make an orderly transfer and allow legal immigration to increase, not decrease and diminish illegal immigration,” Biden said.
Border Patrol agents prepare to transport migrants for asylum claim processing at the U.S.-Mexico border in Campo, California, on Friday, April 5, 2024. (Mark Abramson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“What happened was when Trump found out that I liked it and I supported it, and I’d get, quote, credit for it, he got on the phone, not a joke, checked with the Republicans and called them and said, don’t be for it, will benefit Biden,” he continued. “When the hell would you vote on a major piece of legislation based on whether you benefit somebody that’s in politics? It’s either good or it’s bad. It was a good piece of legislation, and I’m not giving up on it.”
A Biden administration official told Fox News Digital that no final decision has been made on any executive order.
“From Day one, the Administration has always evaluated what actions could be taken. There haven’t been any final decisions regarding what additional executive actions, if any, could be taken,” the official said. “As we do in all cases, the Administration explores a series of policy options, that does not mean any particular policy option will ultimately come to pass.”
A spokesperson for the White House also placed blame on Congress for failing to pass the border measures earlier this year.
“The Administration spent months negotiating in good faith to deliver the toughest and fairest bipartisan border security bill in decades because we need Congress to make significant policy reforms and to provide additional funding to secure our border and fix our broken immigration system,” the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Congressional Republicans chose to put partisan politics ahead of our national security, and rejected what border agents have said they need. No executive action, no matter how aggressive, can deliver the significant policy reforms and additional resources Congress can provide and that Republicans rejected. We continue to call on Speaker Johnson and House Republicans to pass the bipartisan deal to secure the border.”
Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, police and more. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on Twitter: @danimwallace.
