President Biden delivered remarks on Tuesday to discuss the new actions his administration is taking to limit asylum-seeker crossings at the southern border.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Good afternoon.
00:05I've come here today to do what the Republicans in Congress
00:08refuse to do,
00:10take the necessary steps to secure our border.
00:14Four months ago, after weeks of intense negotiation
00:17between my staff and Democrats and Republicans,
00:21we came to a clear, clear bipartisan deal
00:25that was the strongest border security agreement in decades.
00:29But then, Republicans in Congress,
00:32not all of them, walked away from it.
00:34Why? Because Donald Trump told them to.
00:38He told the Republicans,
00:39and it's been published widely by many of you,
00:42that he didn't want to fix the issue.
00:43He wanted to use it to attack me.
00:46That's what he wanted to do. It was a cynical
00:49and an extremely cynical political move
00:52and a complete disservice to the American people
00:54who are looking for us to not to weaponize the border,
00:57but to fix it.
00:59Today, I'm joined by a bipartisan group of governors,
01:03members of Congress, mayors, law enforcement officials,
01:06most of whom live and work along the southern border.
01:10They know the border is not a political issue
01:12to be weaponized.
01:14Responsibility we have to share to do something about it.
01:18They don't have time for the games played in Washington,
01:21and neither do the American people.
01:23So today, I'm moving past Republican obstruction
01:26and using the executive authorities
01:28available to me as President
01:29to do what I can on my own to address the border.
01:33Frankly, I would have preferred to address this issue
01:36through bipartisan legislation,
01:38because that's the only way to actually get the kind of system
01:42we have now that's broken, fixed,
01:44to hire more Border Patrol agents,
01:46more asylum officers, more judges.
01:49But Republicans have left me with no choice.
01:51Today, I'm announcing actions to bar migrants
01:55who cross our southern border unlawfully
01:57from receiving asylum.
01:59Migrants will be restricted from receiving asylum
02:02at our southern border unless they seek it
02:05after entering through an established lawful process.
02:08And those who seek to come to the United States legally,
02:11for example, by making an appointment
02:13and coming to a port of entry,
02:15asylum will still be available to them.
02:17Still available.
02:18But if an individual chooses not to use our legal pathways,
02:22if they choose to come without permission
02:24and against the law,
02:25they'll be restricted from receiving asylum
02:28and staying in the United States.
02:30This action will help us gain control of our border,
02:33restore order into the process.
02:35This ban will remain in place until the number of people
02:39trying to enter illegally is reduced to a level
02:42that our system can effectively manage.
02:45We'll carry out this order consistent
02:46with all our responsibilities under international law,
02:49every one of them.
02:50In addition to this action,
02:52we recently made important reforms in our asylum system,
02:56more efficient and more secure reforms.
02:58The goal is to deliver decisions on asylum
03:00as quickly as possible.
03:02The quicker the decision means that a migrant
03:06is less likely to pay a criminal smuggler thousands of dollars
03:09to take him on a dangerous journey,
03:11knowing that if, in fact, they move in the wrong direction,
03:14they returned around quickly.
03:17Two weeks ago, the Department of Justice stated
03:20started a new docket in the immigration courts
03:22to address cases where people have recently crossed the border
03:25and make can they make a decision within six months,
03:29rather than six years, because that's what happens now.
03:32Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security
03:34has proposed new rules to allow federal law enforcement
03:37to more quickly remove asylum seekers
03:40that have criminal convictions
03:42and remove them from the United States.
03:44My administration has also recently launched new efforts
03:48to go after criminal networks
03:50that profit from smuggling migrants to our border
03:53and incentivize people to give tips to law enforcement,
03:56provide information that brings smugglers to justice.
04:01We're also sending additional federal prosecutors
04:03to hotspots along the border
04:05and prosecute individuals who break our immigration laws.
04:10One other critical step that we will be taking,
04:13and that has made a huge difference,
04:15we're continuing to work closely with our Mexican neighbors
04:19instead of attacking Mexico.
04:21And it's worked.
04:23We've built a strong partnership of trust
04:24between the Mexican President López Obrador.
04:27And I'm going to do the same with the Mexican elect
04:29President who I spoke with yesterday.
04:32We've chosen to work together with Mexico as an equal partner.
04:36And the facts are clear, due to the arrangements
04:39that I've reached with President Obrador,
04:42with a number of migrants coming and shared to our shared
04:45border unlawfully in recent months has dropped dramatically.
04:49But while these steps are important, they're not enough.
04:52To truly secure the border, we have to change our laws.
04:56And Congress needs to provide the necessary funding
04:58to hire 1,500 more border security agents,
05:02100 more immigration judges
05:04to help tackle the backlog of cases,
05:06more than 2 million of them, 4,300 more asylum officers
05:11to make decisions in less than six months
05:14instead of six years, which is what it takes now.
05:17And around 100 more high-tech detection machines
05:21to significantly increase the ability to screen
05:23and stop fentanyl being smuggled into the United States.
05:28These investments were one of the primary reasons
05:31that the Border Patrol Union
05:33endorsed the bipartisan deal in the first place.
05:36These investments are essential, remain essential.
05:39As far as I'm concerned, if you're not willing
05:41to spend the money to hire more Border Patrol agents,
05:44more asylum officers, more judges,
05:46more high-tech machinery,
05:48you're just not serious about protecting our border.
05:50It's as simple as that.
05:52I believe that immigration has always been
05:54a lifeblood of America.
05:56We're constantly renewed by an infusion of people
06:00and new talent.
06:02The Statue of Liberty is not some relic of American history.
06:05It stands for who we are as a United States.
06:08So I will never demonize immigrants.
06:11I'll never refer to immigrants
06:12as poisoning the blood of a country.
06:15And further, I'll never separate children
06:17from their families at the border.
06:19I will not ban people from this country
06:21because of their religious beliefs.
06:23I will not use the U.S. military to go into neighborhoods
06:26all across the country
06:27to pull millions of people out of their homes
06:29and away from their families to put detention camps
06:32in a way while awaiting deportation,
06:34as my predecessor says he will do
06:36if he occupies his office again.
06:39My very first day as President,
06:41I introduced a comprehensive immigration reform plan
06:44to fix our broken system, secure our border,
06:48provide a pathway for citizenship for DREAMers,
06:51and a lot more.
06:52And I'm still fighting to get that done.
06:55But we must face the simple truth.
06:57To protect America as a land that welcomes immigrants,
07:00we must first secure the border and secure it now.
07:04The simple truth is there is a worldwide migrant crisis.
07:09And if the United States doesn't secure our border,
07:11there's no limit to the number of people
07:13may try to come here
07:15because there's no better place on the planet
07:17than the United States of America.
07:19For those who say the steps I've taken are too strict,
07:22I say to you that be patient.
07:24And goodwill of the American people
07:26are going to be wearing thin right now.
07:29Doing nothing is not an option. We have to act.
07:32We must act consistent with both our law and our values,
07:35our values as Americans.
07:37I'll take these steps today not to walk away
07:40from who we are as Americans,
07:42to make sure we preserve who we are
07:44for future generations to come.
07:46Today, I've spoken about what we need to do
07:49to secure the border.
07:50In the weeks ahead, and I mean the weeks ahead,
07:52I'll speak to how we can make our immigration system
07:55more fair and more just.
07:57Let's fix the problem and stop fighting about it.
08:00I'm doing my part. We're doing our part.
08:03Congressional Republicans should do their part.
08:06Thank you very much.
08:07Mr. President, I'm a correspondent.
08:09Mr. President! Mr. President!
08:13Mr. President! Why aren't you taking these steps?
08:19Mr. President, why aren't you taking these steps?
08:27Mr. President, get on with this.
08:27Mr President, he's cutting you out of politics with the war.
08:34What was that?
08:35I ask sir, is Prime Minister Netanyahu playing politics with the war?
08:42I don't think so. He's trying to work out a serious problem here.