Opinion posted on Facebook by Rodney Scott

The Biden administration has indicated they will announce executive action on Tuesday related to border security.

I support real action to secure our border regardless of the author. However, I am very skeptical that President Biden’s announcement on Tuesday will be anything more than political theater.

First, let us not forget that President Biden campaigned on opening the border and making it easier for foreign nationals to enter the US. Additionally, for three years President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas have repeatedly stated that they have already done everything that they can legally do to improve border security.

All the rumors indicate that the pending executive action will likely leverage the INA 212f provision and borrow from the proposed emergency provisions included in the failed Lankford-Mayorkas Senate Bill. Those emergency provisions allowed the President to expel illegal aliens entering the US in-between ports of entry when specific thresholds are exceeded over a designated period of time. The lowest threshold in the Lankford-Mayorkas Bill was 4k illegal entries a day for a week. It is important to note that the Bill included creative counting that excluded specific groups from being considered in the total number. Most importantly, 1000 illegal entries a day exceeds USBP’s capabilities to maintain effective border security.

For the past several months, USBP encounters have exceeded 3500 a day. While this is far short of the 10,000, we saw in one day earlier this year, it is quite interesting that it falls just below the 4k threshold yet if far exceeds the 1000 encounters a day that provide the cartels with the ability to control who and what can enter the US.

If the executive action does anything short of ending catch and release, you will know that it is political theater and not about real border security.