President Joe Biden is reportedly considering reinstating an immigration policy that detains migrant families who attempt to cross the border illegally, fueling tensions with congressional Democrats who are already upset with the president over other policy decisions.
The Biden administration is considering a revival of the policy as officials prepare for the end of Title 42, a COVID-era rule that allowed Border Patrol agents to expel immigrants immediately upon encountering them. That rule is set to expire in May, giving Biden administration officials two months to implement a new strategy to address the surge in immigration.
Democratic lawmakers are furious with the news that Biden may resume detentions for migrant families, a policy they denounced as inhumane under the Trump administration. Biden lifted the detention policy shortly after taking office in 2021, but now, officials are looking at ways to reinstate some of its provisions — stoking anger from Democrats who say Biden has been mum on his plans.
“The lack of communication on immigration-related policy decisions is an insult,” Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who is heavily involved with immigration reform in Congress, told Axios. “It would be like making civil rights legislative ideas and thoughts without checking with the Congressional Black Caucus.”
The White House has not confirmed whether Biden is looking to revive the detention policy, with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre only telling reporters he “wants to build an immigration system that is secure, orderly, and humane.”
The most recent developments threaten to deepen tensions between Biden and congressional Democrats after the president angered several members of his party by declining to veto a GOP-led measure that would overthrow the rewritten criminal code in Washington, D.C.
Biden announced he would not block the measure after 173 House Democrats already voted against it, prompting several lawmakers to accuse the president of reversing course without communicating his plans.
The discord also comes as Biden attempts to get Democrats on board with his budget proposal for the next fiscal year, which the president is expected to unveil in whole on Thursday. Biden is hoping to rally lawmakers behind his plan to extend Medicare and Social Security protections by increasing taxes for the wealthy — proposals that would likely require all Democrats to be on board for it to be approved by Congress.
