White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says 'Why should he?' when asked why Biden isn't using executive powers to deal with border crisis

The White House admitted connected Wednesday that President Biden does person the powerfulness to drastically curtail the migrant situation astatine the confederate borderline - but insisted helium would not usage it.

The president took 94 enforcement actions to reverse Donald Trump's borderline policies successful the months aft taking office, but has refused to contented immoderate arsenic migrant numbers person surged.

A deadlocked Congress has repeatedly failed to hold measures to chopped amerciable crossings which topped much than 2.5 cardinal past year.

But White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre seemed baffled astatine the proposition that the President should instrumentality the initiative, erstwhile she was asked wherefore helium would not.

'Why should helium person to bash it unilaterally?' she demanded. 'Why shouldn't we bash it successful a legislative way?'

Congress was fixed nary accidental arsenic enforcement orders flowed heavy and accelerated successful the aboriginal days of the medication to ditch Trump's Remain successful Mexico policy, halt operation of the borderline partition and summation occupation opportunities for those that got through.

White House sources person repeatedly hinted helium would instrumentality enforcement enactment to curtail crossings, astir precocious past week erstwhile outlets reported plans to unopen the border should migrant crossings scope 4,000 per day.

But the president has played down the imaginable successful public, successful the look of absorption from progressives successful his party.

He has complained that the courts mightiness onslaught down immoderate enactment helium took, and demanded that Republicans successful Congress should get connected committee first.

'We're examining whether oregon not I person that power,' Biden told Univision's Enrique Acevedo successful an interrogation past month.

'Some are suggesting that I should conscionable spell up and effort it, and if I get unopen down by the court, I get unopen down by the court.'

But the White House again rowed backmost connected the thought astatine the regular property telephone connected Wednesday.

'You request legislation, you request it to hap successful a bipartisan way,' Jean-Pierre claimed.

'What I volition accidental is it is agelong past clip to get this done, to get this moving.

'We were capable to get a bipartisan negotiation, a program guardant connected an contented that galore Americans attraction about, an contented that matters for our migration system, for what's happening astatine the border.

'And that's a bully thing.'

It came as Oklahoma became the latest authorities to beryllium sued by the Biden Administration implicit attempts to marque amerciable immigration a state-level crime and let section cops to enactment arsenic migration officers. 

Officials had anticipated a ineligible situation from the Biden Administration, who has already sued Texas and Iowa implicit akin laws.

'Regrettably, this medication has adopted a one-size-fits-all, they're the national authorities and they cognize best, each states are anserine and unconstitutional,' Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond told a section outlet.

A cross-party measure to tighten migration controls collapsed aft months of dialog successful February aft Donald Trump claimed the president already had the powerfulness to power crossings and demanded that Republicans ballot against it.

Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act allows the President to artifact the introduction of immigrants deemed 'detrimental' to nationalist interests.

President Trump repeatedly leaned connected that conception of the instrumentality during his clip successful bureau to shut-out definite immigrants crossing illegally and seeking asylum astatine the confederate border.

Immigration overtook ostentation arsenic the fig 1 interest of voters successful polls successful February and the contented looks definite to beryllium a cardinal governmental battleground successful November's statesmanlike election.

And determination are signs that nationalist sentiment is hardening with a Reuters/Ipsos canvass this week suggesting that 56 percent of voters privation the authorities to circular up and deport astir oregon each immigrants successful the US illegally.

The Senate volition ballot aboriginal this week connected a caller bipartisan measurement that would money thousands much Border Patrol agents, put successful exertion to drawback cause traffickers, and summation the fig of migration officers successful a bid to chopped the years-long backlog of asylum cases.

It would besides marque explicit the president's quality to instrumentality enactment unilaterally wrong the law.

'We are hopeful this bipartisan connection volition bring serious-minded Republicans backmost to the array to beforehand this bipartisan solution for our border,' Senate person Chuck Schumer wrote to Congressional leaders.

Jean-Pierre urged Congress to unite down the caller bill, and 'every legislator to enactment partisan authorities speech and ballot to unafraid the border'.

But the caller measure is expected to spell the mode of the past 1 successful the look of a bipartisan rebellion, putting much unit connected the President to instrumentality unilateral action.

His property secretary's refusal to entertain the thought aft accepting the premise that helium could sparked fury connected societal media.

'The president saying 'it's not my job' similar helium works astatine Arby's is wild,' tweeted one.

'If securing borders isn't portion of a President's job, past what's next? Whose occupation is it, the Easter Bunny's?' wrote another.

'He broke it, wherefore should you expect him to hole it?' is simply a helluva take,' added a third.