Time to use your pen, Mr. President

It does not look like the Congress will pass a border bill.  So it’s time to put pressure on President Biden to use his pen.  Elon Musk put it this way:

“No laws need to be passed,” Musk wrote. “All that is needed is an executive order to require proof before granting an asylum hearing. That is how it used to be.”

Musk, the owner of Tesla, SpaceX and X, previously argued that gaining asylum status after illegally crossing the southern border is as easy as a Google search. 

He also agreed with Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor David Sacks who wrote last night that the border is broken “because this administration refuses to enforce the laws we already have.” Musk responded by writing, “exactly.”

Use your pen, Mr. President.

In the past, such as the Obama years, we objected to a president using his pen to legalize people (DACA) or using administrative agencies (EPA) to get around Congress.  In this case, we agree that the president can use his pen — maybe the same pen he used to scratch out the Trump orders.

So why is President Biden refusing to use his pen now?  The answer is pure politics.  He would have to admit that he reversed a Trump order that was working for the country.  In other words, “Remain in Mexico” stopped the tsunami of people coming to the border and showed that we could work jointly with our southern neighbor.

It’s probably a good idea for the U.S. Congress to revisit immigration laws, and especially the asylum rules.  However, President Biden can fix the problem quickly with pen in hand.

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Image: Elon Musk.  Credit: JD Lasica via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (cropped).