Can We Trust Anything That Biden Says?

The topic of liberty principle for this Freedom Friday concerns freedom from illegal immigration. President Joe Biden and former-President Donald Trump both visited the southern border today. Biden chose to visit the border in Brownsville, Texas, and Trump visited Eagle Pass, Texas. Less than 50 migrants crossed at Brownsville in the past week, while approximately 2,000 crossed at Eagle Pass during the same period of time.

Why the difference in numbers? Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered razor wire and train cars to be placed on the border. Texas has shown that America can stop the hordes of migrants crossing into America illegally. However, the Biden administration does not want to learn from Texas.

Biden and Trump both delivered remarks when they visited the border. Fred Lucas at The Daily Signal fact-checked four big claims that Biden made in his remarks. 

1. ‘Long Past Time to Act’

[Biden tried to claim that he is trying hard to manage the issues of illegal immigration and border issues.]

Biden insisted that Congress must act by passing the bipartisan border security deal that stalled recently in the Senate.

“They desperately need more resources, need more agents, more officers, more equipment in order to secure our border,” Biden said. “Folks, it’s time for us to move on this. It can’t wait any longer.”

However, president has a menu of options under his authority – just as he acted in his first 100 days and beyond to roll back the Trump administration’s border security measures.

The Biden administration has the authority to detain, expel, and deport illegal immigrants under current federal immigration law, as well as under international agreements….

Biden’s first 100 days as president offer greater context, since he took 94 separate executive actions related to immigration.

The office of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., counted 64 executive actions by Biden that made border security worse, such as doing away with the “Remain in Mexico” policy to adjudicate asylum claims, halting the Trump administration’s construction of a wall at the southern border, and expanding “catch and release” of illegal border crossers.

Biden took 89 executive actions that specifically “reversed or started to undo Trump policies,” according to the Migration Policy Institute.

2. ‘My First Day as President’

Biden noted a bill that he proposed on his first day in office.

“In my first day as president, I introduced a bill I sent to Congress, a comprehensive plan to fix the broken immigration system and fix the border. No action was taken,” Biden said.

It’s true that on Jan. 20, 2021, the White House announced that the new president was sending a “comprehensive” immigration bill to a Democrat-controlled Congress that would include some border security measures as well as a “pathway” for illegal immigrants, which critics call amnesty for lawbreakers.

Most Republican lawmakers argue that the nation must regain control of its borders from illegal aliens before moving to address the legal immigration process.

3. ‘Backlog’ of Immigration Cases

Biden talked about the immigration bill that recently failed to pass the Senate, which would add 1,500 Border Patrol agents to man the border and 100 immigration judges to adjudicate asylum cases.

“We also need more immigration judges to help handle the backlog. There are 2 million cases,” Biden said. “This bipartisan deal would provide funding for 100 more immigration judges immediately. It would also establish a new, efficient, and fair process for the government to consider asylum claims for those arriving at our border. Today, to get a decision on an asylum claim takes five to seven years.”

Interestingly, Biden explained that the backlog could be a magnate for illegal immigrants to cross and claim asylum – knowing that it will take years before a judge hears their case….

However, on Feb. 2, 2021, Biden signed an executive order to eliminate the Trump administration’s agreement with Mexico known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy, and officially called the Migrant Protection Protocols….

4. ‘Toughest Set of Border Security Reforms’

Biden called for the Senate to take up the border security bill again after it failed to pass a procedural hurdle. If Johnson allowed the bill to come to a House floor vote, the president said, it would pass.

“It’s the toughest set of border security reforms we have ever seen in tis country,” Biden said. “Pretty basic. With this deal, we could hire 1,500 additional border security agents.”

Critics say it isn’t close to the toughest.

The bill would put the policy of catch and release “into law,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, says. The Texas Republican argued that the 370-page bill “normalized 5,000 illegal aliens [crossing the border] a day.” …

Most of the Senate’s $118 billion bill would go toward more U.S. aid for Ukraine’s defense against Russia, although it also contained aid to Israel.

[The bill would provide $1.4 billion to sanctuary jurisdictions to supply “critical services to newcomers” and “expedite work permits for people who are in the country and qualify.” However, the bill would do nothing about restoring the “Remain in Mexico” policy from the Trump administration. In addition, $2.3 billion would go to the same organizations who are encouraging illegal immigration.]

Although “toughest” is a subjective term, it’s not clear the Senate bill is tougher than border security legislation passed by the Republican-controlled House in May 2023. That bill would increase manpower, technology, and transparency in the Department of Homeland Security….