The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Opinion House Republicans try to blow up the border deal they claim to want

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) speaks to journalists outside the White House on Wednesday after meeting with President Biden. (Susan Walsh/AP)
5 min

Crisis! Invasion! A national security and humanitarian catastrophe!

GOP politicians have been shrieking about the U.S.-Mexico border since President Biden took office. Yet when offered the chance to beef up security there, House Republicans refuse.

It’s an election year, after all. And when it comes to immigration, the problem is much more valuable than its cure.

Southwest border encounters have been rising in recent months, and cities across the country have struggled to manage an influx of desperate migrants not legally allowed to work and support themselves. Over in the Senate, lawmakers have been hashing out a bipartisan deal to address the issue.

From what we know about the deal so far, there’s much to find objectionable, including attempts to hamstring the asylum and humanitarian parole systems. Which is unsurprising, given that it’s being pushed by Republican hard-liners such as Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), James Lankford (Okla.) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.).

But whatever ends up in this evolving deal, GOP House lawmakers have already preemptively rejected it.