White House says Supreme Court decision will sow chaos at the border.

U.S.|White House says Supreme Court decision will sow chaos at the border. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/19/us/white-house-says-supreme-court-decision-will-sow-chaos-at-the-border.html President Biden in Nevada today.Credit…Tom Brenner for The New York Times The White House spokeswoman on Tuesday lashed out at the Supreme Court’s decision to allow Texas to start enforcing its own, restrictive immigration law, predicting that it will make Texas communities […]

White House says Supreme Court decision will sow chaos at the border.

White House says Supreme Court decision will sow chaos at the border. thumbnail

U.S.|White House says Supreme Court decision will sow chaos at the border.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/19/us/white-house-says-supreme-court-decision-will-sow-chaos-at-the-border.html

President Biden descends the stairs of Air Force One.
President Biden in Nevada today.Credit…Tom Brenner for The New York Times

Michael D. Shear

The White House spokeswoman on Tuesday lashed out at the Supreme Court’s decision to allow Texas to start enforcing its own, restrictive immigration law, predicting that it will make Texas communities less safe and “sow chaos and confusion at our southern border.”

Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that the Texas law is “just another example of Republican officials politicizing the border” and she called on Republicans in Congress to vote for border security legislation that has already passed with bipartisan support in the Senate but has stalled in the House.

“We fundamentally disagree with the Supreme Court’s order allowing Texas’ harmful and unconstitutional law to go into effect,” she said.

The Texas law, known as S.B. 4, is the latest in a series of clashes between Texas and the Biden administration amid a surge in migration that has led to record numbers of people trying to cross into the United States illegally from Mexico.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered state authorities not to allow federal Border Patrol agents into a park along the border in Eagle Pass, Texas. The governor installed razor wire to deter migrant crossings which was later cut by federal agents after a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. And he has bused migrants around the country in an attempt to force liberal cities to deal with the issue.

President Biden’s administration has repeatedly assailed the governor for his actions at the border, accusing him of overstepping his authority and making it tougher for the federal government to deal with the situation. Mr. Abbott has fired back, saying that the president is failing to secure the border.

For Mr. Biden, getting control of the border has become a central issue in his re-election campaign as he faces former President Donald J. Trump in a rematch this November.

Mr. Trump helped block the congressional legislation that Mr. Biden supports by criticizing it as weak and ineffective. Mr. Biden and his top immigration advisers have said the government needs the policy changes and billions of dollars for enforcement and immigration processing in order to make the situation better.