For a long time, the issue of immigration remained a blind spot in US President Joe Biden's mandate, which was full of structural reforms. This inaction is undoubtedly due to internal differences within the Democrats and, above all, to the lack of consensus between the two major parties represented in Congress. While illegal entry numbers reached an all-time high in December, Joe Biden was content to provide answers. In return, the president hopes that Republican elected officials will agree to a new tranche of military aid for Ukraine.
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To achieve his goals, Joe Biden agreed to toughen his positions. The compromise draft currently being drawn up in the Senate by representatives from both camps therefore envisages a significant increase in the number of officers responsible for the border police, an increase in the capacity in deportation detention centers and an acceleration of the examination process for asylum applications, and even an increase in funds for the expulsion of rejected people .
Joe Biden also refrained from calling for legalization, also in favor of migrants who arrived on US soil illegally as minors and have since been perfectly integrated into American society. Until now, this has been a constant demand from the democratic camp.
Such a bipartisan agreement, if approved, would be a breakthrough after decades of deadlock that has deprived the United States of legislation adapted to the challenge posed by the significant increase in illegal entries. The last agreement reached in the Senate with the help of eight Republican elected officials under a Democratic presidency in 2013 was then blocked by the then Grand Old Party-controlled House of Representatives because it was deemed not restrictive enough.
Republican drift
Everything suggests that the episode could repeat itself thanks to the activism of a man who nevertheless likes to present himself as a champion of the fight against immigration: Donald Trump. The latter is doing everything in its power to thwart this compromise, which would, however, enable a drastic reduction in illegal entries. With less than 10 months to go before the presidential election, the former businessman would rather see his likely future opponent fail in November than take action that meets his demands.
Not surprising for a former president who was indifferent to the prospect of an economic crisis earlier this month, assuming it occurred before his possible return to the White House. This assumed worst-case policy is all the easier to put into practice because the narrow Republican majority in the House of Representatives makes it hostage to around twenty Trump elected officials.
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The Republican trend doesn't end there. The Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, has actually decided to turn a deaf ear to a decision by the Supreme Court, albeit overwhelmingly conservative, which authorized the dismantling of the barbed wire installed by his services on the border with Mexico. These barbed wire fences effectively prevent access to the Federal Border Police, whose prerogative this is. By putting Texas' sovereignty above that of the state, to the acclaim of Donald Trump, the governor is dangerously weakening his country.
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