Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the latest progressive to criticize Biden on the border
Fox News footage shows a large group of migrants walking across the US-Mexico border
Footage from August 2022 shows a large group of migrants crossing the border at Eagle Pass, Texas, while also stating where they are coming from. (Fox News)
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is scorching President Biden for considering executive action to address the migrant crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The outspoken lawmaker compared Biden to former President Trump, whose stricter immigration policies were universally panned by progressives.
"Doing Trump impressions isn’t how we beat Trump," she wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "Seeking asylum is a legal right of all people. In the face of authoritarian threat, we should not buckle on our principles - we should commit to them.
"The mere suggestion is outrageous and the President should refuse to sign it."
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is scorching President Biden for considering executive action to address the migrant crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. (Left:REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/Right: REUTERS/Yves Herman)
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A White House spokesperson did not directly address Ocasio-Cortez’s comments when asked by Fox News Digital. Instead, the spokesperson reiterated calls for House Republicans to act on the Senate’s bipartisan border security and foreign aid bill, which did not even pass the Senate after a flood of GOP opposition.
President Biden walks on the South Lawn to board Marine One before departing the White House Dec. 8, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
"The administration spent months negotiating in good faith to deliver the toughest and fairest bipartisan border security bill in decades because we need Congress to make significant policy reforms and to provide additional funding to secure our border and fix our broken immigration system," the spokesperson said.
"Congressional Republicans chose to put partisan politics ahead of our national security, rejected what border agents have said they need, and then gave themselves a two-week vacation. No executive action, no matter how aggressive, can deliver the significant policy reforms and additional resources Congress can provide and that Republicans rejected."
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Democrats have demonstrated they are increasingly annoyed at Biden’s new willingness to crack down and take the pressure off the nation’s overwhelmed asylum system.
When Biden said he would close the border earlier this month if Congress granted him the ability through legislation, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Nanette Barragán, D-Calif., said she was "disappointed" in the president, adding, "Efforts to shut down the border do not work. It did not work under Trump with the use of Title 42, and it will not fix the problem now."
Migrants gather outside the Roosevelt Hotel, where dozens had arrived and remain camped out as they try to secure temporary housing Aug. 2, 2023, in New York City. (Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
An administration official told Fox News Digital Thursday that no final decision has been made regarding what, and if, executive action could be taken. The official added Biden is exploring multiple policy options.
It comes after Fox News was told Wednesday evening that Biden is considering executive action to restrict the ability of migrants who cross the U.S. border illegally to claim asylum.
The president’s critics on the right have long accused him of making the crisis worse by rolling back Trump administration policies like "Remain In Mexico."
But the border is rapidly emerging as a top issue for 2024 voters.
U.S. Rep.-elect Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., won a recent special election in New York’s 3rd Congressional District, handing Democrats a critical victory after running on a pledge to take on the border crisis.
A recent Fox News poll found nearly eight in 10 voters think the border is a significant issue, while 34% said it was an emergency and 45% said it was a major problem.
Fox News’ Edward Lawrence contributed to this report.
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to
