COLUMBIA, South Carolina (AP) — Bidding to salvage a border deal in Congress that also would unlock money for Ukraine, President Joe Biden offered fresh assurances Saturday night that he would be willing to close the U.S.-Mexico border if lawmakers would only send him a bill to sign.
Biden — also eager to disarm GOP criticism of his handling of migration at the border — said at a political event in South Carolina that he would shut down the border ’“right now” if Congress passed the proposed deal.
“It’ll also give me as president, the emergency authority to shut down the border until it could get back under control.
If that bill were the law today, I’d shut down the border right now and fix it quickly.”The deal being negotiated in Congress would require the U.S. to shutter the border if roughly 5,000 migrants cross illegally on any given day.
Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesIn a written statement on Friday evening, Biden said the deal would allow him “a new emergency authority” to close the border.
Persons:
Joe Biden, Biden —, “, Biden, “ It’ll, I’d, Donald Trump, He's, Trump’s admonitions, Deirdre Schifeling, ”, Mike Johnson, Guatemalans, ___ Long
Organizations:
COLUMBIA, Senate Democrats, Republicans, GOP, America, Biden, House, Democratic, “, American Civil Liberties Union, Border Patrol, Hondurans
Locations:
South Carolina, Ukraine, U.S, Mexico, Venezuela, Washington