House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Friday that Mexico told President Joe Biden they are against a certain border policy.
While appearing on Fox News's America's Newsroom, Johnson spoke about how he has repeatedly urged Biden to take executive action to secure the United States-Mexico border and how different policies, like Remain in Mexico, could potentially curb the flow of illegal migrants.
"If he would just do one executive order and reinstate Remain in Mexico, the border patrol, the people in charge, say it would reduce the flow by 70 percent," Johnson said. "I told him that, I said, 'Why won't you do it?' He goes, "Mexico doesn't want to do that.'"
Johnson went on to say that former President Donald Trump's administration imposed the Remain in Mexico policy and questioned why it couldn't be done again.
Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment.
The context:
Republicans, including Johnson, have repeatedly criticized Biden's handling of the U.S.-Mexico border. Biden continues to urge Congress to pass a bipartisan border security bill, but Johnson has already indicated that the legislation will not pass in the House.
Instead, Johnson has urged Biden to take executive action on the border, such as reimposing the Remain in Mexico policy, which was first introduced by Trump.
What we know:
The Remain in Mexico policy, or Migrant Protection Protocols, was introduced by Trump in 2019 and stopped migrants from remaining in the U.S. while their immigration cases were pending.
However, in 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to side with Biden and rescinded the Trump-era policy.
Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows a decline in illegal migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border in January; however, these numbers are still higher than in previous years, like 2020.
Views:
Critics of the Remain in Mexico policy, like the Justice for Immigrants organization, say that it leaves "many vulnerable asylum seekers to wait in dangerous and unsafe circumstances, including those in which their lives may be at risk, they may not be able to access health services and humanitarian aid, and they may face deportation."
However, Johnson said on America's Newsroom that he told Biden he could use executive action to close the border "if it deems it a national security interest."
What's next:
Immigration is likely to remain a leading topic during the 2024 election cycle. Following Super Tuesday, the 2024 election is shaping up to be a rematch of the 2020 race between Biden and Trump.
In a Truth Social post on Thursday, Trump responded to Biden's State of the Union address, saying, "This was an angry, polarizing, and hate-filled Speech. He barely mentioned Immigration, or the Worst Border in the History of the World. He will never fix Immigration, nor does he want to. He wants our Country to be flooded with Migrants."
Update 3/8/24, 10:25 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update 3/8/24, 11:04 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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