Joe Manchin: If Border Deal Fails, Biden Must Declare National Emergency

President Joe Biden must declare a national emergency if Congress cannot reach a deal to improve enforcement at the U.S.-Mexico border, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia told Newsweek.

The Senate is embroiled in negotiations that could see the upper chamber vote on a deal by this week or next. However, House Speaker Mike Johnson has refrained from committing to put such an agreement for vote on the floor if it doesn’t go far enough in achieving conservative demands to curb migration and bolster enforcement as the number of migrant crossings has spiked.

Immigration is among top issues ahead of the 2024 presidential election with polls showing doubts over Biden’s handling of the situation, on which Republican frontrunner Donald Trump has promised tougher action.

“The President has a responsibility and, I think, an obligation that if Congress cannot, because of politics, consummate a deal, then he has to declare a national emergency,” Manchin told Newsweek. “The border is probably the greatest crisis we face right now.”

Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia on July 11, 2023, in Washington, D.C. Manchin has been vocal in his desire to address the situation facing the U.S.-Mexico border.
Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for JDRF

Declaring a national emergency offers the president powers not normally afforded to the office, including the ability to authorize military construction projects, enter national defense-related contracts, and deploy troops to coordinate relief efforts.

Former President Trump declared a national emergency in 2019 after Congress failed to reach a deal to fund the southwest border wall he wanted, resulting in Department of Defense funds being spent on the project.

Democratic leaders decried the effort, with Senate Leader Charles Schumer calling it a “lawless act, a gross abuse of the power of the presidency.” When Biden took office, he terminated the declaration.

The situation at the border has shifted since Trump’s office, as migrant crossing numbers have spiked.

During the four financial years coinciding with Trump’s presidency, total annual encounters between border officials and migrants, as reported by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, fluctuated from around 304,000 to nearly 852,000. Over Biden’s tenure, the annual encounters have ranged from roughly 1.73 million to nearly 2.48 million.

A potential deal depends on politics too, however, as some Republicans fear an agreement could present a political win for Biden heading into the 2024 election. Republican Representative Troy Nehls of Texas said on CNN he’s “not willing to do too damn much right now to help a Democrat and to help Joe Biden’s approval rating.” If Johnson holds a similar belief, a deal could be doomed.

Yet, if the House GOP does indeed prevent a deal from moving forward, declaring a national emergency would paint a significant contrast between Biden and a House GOP that does not want a bipartisan moving forward due to election-year politics. It could also provide some of the relief Manchin desires.

“There has to be security and we can’t have this openness with hundreds of thousands of people coming through,” Manchin told Newsweek. “It’s dangerous, very dangerous, and it’s a crisis.”