(NewsNation) — House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., reiterated his opposition to a proposed border deal during his first extensive remarks on the subject from the House floor. He again called on the Biden administration to do more with the laws the country already has.
“The border has been deliberately opened wide,” Johnson said at the beginning of his 30-minute remarks. He likened the flow of migrants to an erupting fire hydrant. He said a border patrol official told him they don’t need more buckets, they need to turn it off.
Johnson spoke about the growing issues the flow of migrants contributes to, including fentanyl overdoses and unsustainable migrant populations disrupting cities.
Biden “replaced detain and deport with catch and release,” Johnson said.
Johnson also said the House would move “swiftly” on the two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that came out of committee early Wednesday morning, calling them “long overdue.”
The Senate proposal is the work of a bipartisan group of Senators, in an effort to reach a compromise that would include changes to border policy and enforcement in exchange for continued support for Ukraine and Israel.
Republicans have called for significant changes to how asylum policy works, demanded construction of a border wall be resumed and increased expulsion authority similar to Title 42.
The Senate compromise is rumored to include a provision that would allow the Department of Homeland Security to shut down the border to illegal crossings if numbers exceeded a certain threshold, though some people fleeing persecution would still qualify. It would also speed up the asylum process to have cases heard within six months. Currently, some migrants are being given court dates as far as 10 years into the future for asylum cases.
President Joe Biden has said, if the deal passes, he would use that authority to close down the border between ports of entry to handle the recent influx of migrant crossings.
But Wednesday, Johnson repeated his claim that Biden already has all the authority he needs to stem the tide of migrants coming into the country. Johnson says some Border Patrol agents have told him forcing asylum-seekers to remain in Mexico while they wait for their court hearing could make a big impact.
Previously, Johnson called the Senate deal “dead on arrival” and the negotiations hit another stumbling block after former President Donald Trump called on Republicans to reject anything less than a “perfect bill.”
Trump’s comments have prompted some to suggest Republicans aren’t interested in actually solving the border crisis because it is of use on the campaign trail.
If a compromise can’t be reached, it could also be a benefit to Russian President Vladimir Putin since the deal is tied to Ukraine aid. Without funding from the U.S., Ukraine could struggle against the Russian invasion.
The deal would also include funding for Israel and Taiwan, two other major foreign policy concerns for the U.S.
