Trump opposes Biden's border plan

Joe Biden and Donald Trump traded verbal blows over a bipartisan border reform plan aimed at stemming the tide of migrants crossing into the United States from Mexico.
With immigration one of the hottest election issues in the rematch between Trump and Biden for the White House this year, the fate of the bill being debated by the Senate has become a high-stakes battleground. Republican primary front-runner Trump has made immigration front and center in his campaign, issuing dire warnings about the border situation, but has also strongly opposed the deal, despite Biden promising to temporarily "close" the border.
Biden backed the proposed bill, insisting it would usher in the "toughest" set of border reforms.
"This will give me as president emergency authority to close the border until we get it back under control," Biden said in a speech in South Carolina. "If this bill were law today, I would close the border immediately and fix it quickly," he added, AFP reported.
Instead, Trump continued to criticize Biden for "open borders" as the influx of migrants shakes up domestic politics.
"The border is in a political game like it's never been," he said during a campaign speech in Las Vegas.
After Trump's active lobbying, Mike Johnson, speaker of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, said in an open letter that any such bill passed by the Senate would be "dead" and would never pass the House.
"They're blaming me, I said, 'It's okay, blame me, please,'" Trump said. "I'd rather have no bill than a bad bill," he added.
As Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the federal government clash over control of the border, Trump said he would give the state his "full support" and "deploy all necessary military and law enforcement resources to seal the last stretch of the border." ".
In keeping with his often dark rhetoric on immigration, the former president said there was a "100 percent chance of a major terrorist attack in the United States" carried out by people crossing the border.
"We're going to launch the largest domestic deportation operation in America," he said, the oft-repeated campaign promise drawing cheers from the audience.
The deal being negotiated in Congress has high stakes, and not just for the presidential candidates.
In addition to addressing American concerns about the flow of migrants arriving through Mexico, it would provide vital military aid to Ukraine in its war against Russian invaders.
Just days ago, it seemed possible that a bipartisan deal could be struck that would tie aid to Kiev — a Biden priority — with money for border security, which Republicans have been pushing for.
White House deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton said this week that the Biden administration had worked "in good faith" with Republicans to reach an agreement and hoped they would "stay at the table so we can do it." /BGNES