Republican Senator Praises Barack Obama's Border Policies

Senator James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican, told CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday that former Democratic President Barack Obama "enforced the border much better than President Biden."

The Context:

Border security has become a top priority for Republicans as the United States has seen a surge in illegal migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border in recent years. In the 2024 fiscal year, which started on October 1, 2023, there have been a total of 1,231,213 U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) enforcement actions so far.

Lankford led an effort in recent months to craft a bipartisan border deal that would have not only given $20 billion for border security but would have reformed America's immigration system. The bill, which was attached with a foreign aid package, amounted to $118 billion in total. It failed to advance in the Senate in February after Republicans and former President Donald Trump criticized it.

America's immigration system has been an issue since well before Biden took office. Apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border rose 14.7 percent during the Trump administration. During Obama's first term in office, deportations reached 400,000 in the 2012 fiscal year. However, in his second term, deportations decreased, dropping to 235,413 in the 2015 fiscal year.

What We Know:

Tapper asked Lankford on Sunday if there was still any hope of passing legislation on the border.

"I don't think there's any hope in this year," Lankford said. "I'm trying to move real action that will really make a difference on the border like what this bill was...There are a lot of things he could do as I've reminded the president and his team. President Obama enforced the border much better than Biden did with the exact same set of laws. If President Biden doesn't want to enforce it like President Trump did, at least enforce it like President Obama did."

Newsweek reached out to the White House, Biden's campaign, and Lankford's office via email for comment.

Views:

With the growing number of illegal crossings at the southern border and Trump the likely GOP nominee in the 2024 presidential election, Biden has his work cut out for him on the campaign trail. Trump has been tough on immigration, making it the key issue of all three of his presidential campaigns.

Meanwhile, critics have compared Trump's rhetoric around the issue to that of the late German dictator Adolf Hitler. The former president has said that immigrants coming into the U.S. are "poisoning the blood of our country."

However, reacting to the criticism, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung previously told Newsweek: "Those who try to make that ridiculous assertion are clearly snowflakes grasping for anything because they are suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome and their sad, miserable existence will be crushed when President Trump returns to the White House."

In an Emerson College poll conducted from March 5 to 6, 1,350 registered voters were asked if they think Biden or Trump would do a better job at handling immigration and border security. A total of 48.2 percent of voters said Biden while 51.8 percent said Trump. The poll had a margin of error of plus to minus 2.6 percentage points.

What's Next?

Biden is still determined to pass the failed border deal.

During his State of the Union (SOTU) address on Thursday night, the president said the bill "would save lives and bring order to the border. It would also give me and any new president new emergency authority to temporarily shut down the border when the number of migrants at the border is overwhelming."

Biden added: "Look, folks, we have a simple choice: We can fight about fixing the border or we can fix it. I'm ready to fix it. Send me the border bill now."

Update 3/10/24, 10:11 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.

Update 3/10/24, 10:51 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.