Congresswoman Lee Calls on President Biden to Take Executive Action on Border Security

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Susie Lee (NV-03) joined 14 of her House colleagues urging President Biden to take executive action and use all tools at his disposal to protect our southern border and allow for orderly legal immigration. The letter comes after U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson has refused to bring a vote to the House floor on bipartisan legislation that was already negotiated by Republicans and Democrats in the Senate.

“We write to you to respectfully request that you and your administration immediately take further action to restore order at the Southern border and fix our broken immigration system,” wrote the Members of Congress in a letter to the President. “It has become clear that the current situation remains untenable, but with Republicans playing politics on border security, it is time for your administration to act. We urge you to use all tools at your disposal, including executive action, to better address security at the Southern border, interdict illicit fentanyl and allow for orderly legal immigration.” 

President Biden and lawmakers in Congress from both parties negotiated a bipartisan deal to protect our border and create a pathway to citizenship at the beginning of this year, but Speaker Johnson called the deal “dead on arrival.” 

The letter highlights lawmakers continued support for funding to increase border patrol personnel and fentanyl scanning technology, as well as immigration judges and asylum officers to allow for processing at ports of entry that is fast, fair, and final. 

Full text of the letter can be found here and below: 

May 7, 2024  

The Honorable Joseph R. Biden  

President of the United States  

The White House 

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW  

Washington, D.C. 20500  

Dear President Biden:  

We write to you to respectfully request that you and your administration immediately take further action to restore order at the Southern border and fix our broken immigration system.  

We appreciate your good faith efforts on the bipartisan border agreement in the Senate. As such, this Congress had an opportunity to work together on a bipartisan basis to secure the border but House Speaker Mike Johnson has refused to bring that bill to us for debate because our House colleagues would rather see the crisis continue and use it as a campaign ad instead of actually addressing this national security issue. It is well past time for both parties to come together and agree on common-sense, bipartisan immigration reforms that both strengthen enforcement at the border and provide a path to citizenship for those who have been living, working, and paying taxes in the United States for many years. All of our constituents, no matter our congressional district, have felt the impacts of the current border situation. Communities across the country are grappling with the fentanyl crisis and struggling to find appropriate shelter and services for those seeking asylum.  

Democrats have repeatedly stood ready to support funding for increased border patrol personnel and fentanyl scanning technology, as well as immigration judges and asylum officers to allow for orderly processing at ports of entry. We were proud to support $19.6 billion for Customs and Border Protection in the recently passed Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 government funding package– including $75.5 million to acquire additional non- intrusive inspection detection systems and $20 million for an additional 150 CBP Officers to support counter fentanyl efforts. We recognize that ultimately fixing our broken immigration system is complex and requires Congress to act, but while Republicans continue to refuse to come to the table and intentionally destroy bipartisan solutions, we still must act to protect our country.  

It has become clear that the current situation remains untenable, but with Republicans playing politics on border security, it is time for your administration to act. We urge you to use all tools at your disposal, including executive action, to better address security at the Southern border, interdict illicit fentanyl and allow for orderly legal immigration. Thank you for your attention to this matter. 

Sincerely, 

MEMBERS OF CONGRESS 

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