El Paso immigrant rights advocates are sounding the alarm over an executive order by President Joe Biden that they say will only "further criminalize parents, children, and individuals seeking safety at our border."
Mayors from communities along the border were invited to Washington, D.C. Tuesday, June 4, as President Joe Biden took executive action to curb the number of asylum-seekers crossing the U.S.-Mexico border each day.
While some border mayors declined Biden's invitation, Mayor Oscar Leeser accepted and set out for the White House Monday following a weekend phone call with the president.
"I think it's really important to our community and the border," Leeser said.
The executive order, which the administration has insisted is needed in the face of continued congressional inaction on immigration reform, will cap the number of asylum-seekers allowed to enter the country each day and empower border authorities to turn away those who attempt to enter between ports of entry once the cap has been reached.
More:Biden to sign executive order authorizing US to turn away migrants at Mexico border
But back in El Paso, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center appears to question the necessity of the new order.
“Any decision by the Biden administration to further criminalize parents, children, and individuals seeking safety at our border is a wasteful repetition of past mistakes," Las Americas Executive Director Marisa Limón Garza said in a statement. "Criminal charges for unauthorized entry and reentry are less about pursuing justice than a failed misadventure that comes with an actual human toll."
"We are long past the point where we can or should accept such unworkable, politically-minded gestures," she added. "Migrants are real people just seeking to contribute and thrive as part of our communities.”
Garza was far from alone in her criticism — both sides of the aisle, it seems, have concerns as well.
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar 'disappointed' with executive action
Despite being a national co-chair on Biden's reelection committee, U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, in a statement, expressed disappointment over the president's asylum-restricting move.
“While I understand the administration is doing its best to navigate this challenge without adequate resources and appropriate legislation,I am disappointed that the focus today is only on enforcement, and it is my sincere hope that administrative actions on immigration relief, like parole in place for the spouses of US citizens and designations of Temporary Protected Status for vulnerable populations, will also happen," she wrote.
Like many Democrats, Escobar continued to point the finger at congressional Republicans for their continued refusal to address immigration issues in a bipartisan manner.
“Irregular migration between ports of entry has been climbing over the last decade, well before President Biden was in the White House," she said. "The reality today is that many migrants arriving at our southern border are economic migrants — our country desperately needs — but are unlikely to ever qualify for asylum. As a result of the volume, our asylum system has become so overwhelmed that asylum seekers must now wait several years to have their claims heard, and this is unacceptable."
"The Republican majority in the House rejected the president’s request for the resources necessary to deal with this challenge and they have also refused to bring real and sustainable legislative solutions to the floor."
Escobar reiterated that a bipartisan solution, her Dignity Act, is already on the table and ready for a vote.
“My colleagues in Congress who want fewer administrative actions must also be willing to compromise and work on lasting, comprehensive, bipartisan immigration reform, like my bipartisan Dignity Act," she said."The Dignity Act would not only humanely reform outdated border processes, but it would open up badly needed legal pathways, something both Republicans and Democrats should seek to fix our broken immigration system.”
Gov. Greg Abbott: Biden 'trying to hoodwink Americans'
In a post on X, Gov. Greg Abbott was blunt about his opposition to Biden's action.
"Biden's announcement today does nothing to secure the border," he wrote. "It actually authorizes 2,500 aliens to cross illegally (and) provides an enticement that will attract even more illegal immigrants."
"He's just trying to hoodwink Americans to think he's taking action before the election."
U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales: Biden once again has done too little, too late
Criticism was hardly limited to Democrats — U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio, likewise blasted Biden's actions.
“President Biden and his administration have ignored the crisis at our borders for years," Gonzales wrote in a statement. "President Biden was nowhere to be found when thousands of illegal immigrants were stuck under a bridge in Del Rio for days. Noexecutiveorder was signed into law to mitigate the influx of migrants who flooded into Eagle Pass in December, causing bridges and railways to cease operations right before the holidays."
"When our border communities needed help the most, this administration left us out to dry. Now that the election is a few months away, President Biden is using anexecutiveorder to score cheap political points. The time for action was years ago — well before we had over 9 million illegal crossings at our borders. President Biden once again has done too little, too late."
'Today's actions do little to solve the situation at the border'
Perhaps the most vocal critic of Biden's executive action was state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, who lost his primary bid to take on U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, to U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas.
“Today’s actions do little to solve the situation at the border that Republicans have caused," Gutierrez wrote in a statement Tuesday. "The United States is punishing asylum seekers that have braved a deadly journey over thousands of miles of jungle and desert, just for a taste of freedom."
“We all want safe and secure border communities, but there is a smart way forward that works — without cruelty and inhumanity," he continued. "We must have border solutions that protect women and children and strengthen our economy. Real lives on both sides of the border are going to be affected in a detrimental way."
National immigration reform advocacy group America's Voice held a similar sentiment, calling the move a "missed opportunity."
"While the administration has rightly put its focus on trying to incentivize migration channeled through ports of entry — not in between — we need greater investment in ports of entry so that more migrants can use them as an option via the cell phone app and greater staffing," said Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of America's Voice, in a news release.
El Paso County Commissioner David Stout: Biden 'catering to fearmongers'
While El Paso County Commissioner David Stout likewise blamed Republicans for the continued chaos at the southern border, he criticized Biden for pandering to their brand of border politics.
"The president is correct that Republican actions at the state and federal levels have been aimed at preventing solutions and fomenting a sense of crisis," Stout wrote in a statement. "However, the president is catering to these fearmongers by cutting off legal pathways to safety and opportunity. Asylum seekers are not an existential threat to the country and a militarized deterrence system is not the right policy for a nation of immigrants."
Stout echoed Escobar's sentiment in calling on Congress to take up the Dignity Act.
"It is a sad day for those doing humanitarian work on behalf of migrants, and once again, underscores the need for comprehensive immigration system reform, such as the bipartisan Dignity Act by U.S. Reps Veronica Escobar of El Paso and Maria Salazar of Miami," he said. "In the absence of that, the president must take actions that promote dignity and opportunity, such as the proposal to extend work permits to the spouses of the 1.1 million U.S. citizens in mixed-status marriages, which El Paso County Commissioners ... voted unanimously to support."
El Paso Chamber, Colin Allred voice support for asylum restrictions
Unlike his primary opponent, Allred voiced cautious support for the president's action.
“Our border communities need more than talking points and photo ops, they need action,” he said in a statement.“And while I have been critical of this administration’s approach to the border, if it is implemented correctly, this Executive Order could bring long overdue relief to our border communities."
There is no substitute for comprehensive congressional action to secure our border," Allred continued, "and get Texas border communities the resources they need."
For the El Paso Chamber, Biden's executive action will result in "fewer disruptions at the port, meaning businesses will not be as impacted as they have been in past years," but it's still only a temporary fix to a decades-old problem.
"President Biden's executive actions, while crucial, serve only as an interim measure, highlighting the pressing need for comprehensive bipartisan reforms to secure the Southern border and address the broader immigration challenges facing the nation," the Chamber wrote in a news release.
"Congress must act."
