New Mexico governor salutes Biden’s ‘balanced approach’ to immigration

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says it’s important the president is “not separating families.”

By Isabella Ramirez

Published on June 13, 2024

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Sunday praised President Joe Biden’s “balanced approach” in toughening security at the border while ensuring protections for undocumented immigrants.

The Democratic governor told Margaret Brennan on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that Biden’s June 4 executive action on immigration — which allows him to suspend asylum claims when crossings surge — is “very important” for a border state like New Mexico, “where risks are present every day” related to “human trafficking, drugs, guns, and other contraband.” But Biden also rounded out his policy by granting federal protections to undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens, Grisham said.

“I need security first and foremost. You can’t protect everybody else and, make no mistake, New Mexico just like everywhere else around the country, suffers from the number of drugs, guns, and related nefarious issues that are exacerbated by not having people in the right places at the border,” Grisham said. “I also appreciate that he did something about all these other families.”

Last Tuesday, Biden announced a major policy initiative streamlining the path to citizenship for some undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens in a program known as “parole in place.” The program will shield an estimated 550,000 undocumented immigrants residing in the United States from deportation.

Biden’s administration additionally said DACA recipients and Dreamers who have earned a college degree or higher in the U.S. and have received a job offer from a U.S. employer in a field related to their degree will more quickly receive work visas.

The new protections for undocumented immigrants, which came only weeks after Biden’s southern border clampdown, followed a wave of flak from progressive Democrats who criticized the president for taking a more conservative approach. A coalition of immigrant advocacy groups — including the American Civil Liberties Union — are currently suing the Biden administration over that executive action.

When asked about the ACLU’s lawsuit, which claims Biden’s directive does not differ legally from a Trump administration move that was blocked by the courts, Grisham said: “It bothers me that that’s the point of view that they’re taking.”

“We’re not separating families. We’re making it really clear you can come through a port of entry,” Grisham said. “I have a president that, unlike Congress … is willing to focus on security, fairness, whether that’s in one or two different decisions, and creating, I hope, a pathway for Congress to stop listening to a candidate who continues it try to score political points instead of solve problems for states like mine and American families. He’s doing both.”

In the face of extreme heat across the country, Grisham said she has not seen any spikes in border crossings outside of ports of entry or heat-related issues for asylum-seekers but remains aware of the potential risk. Some advocates have warned that Biden’s asylum restrictions may encourage migrants to take more dangerous journeys in severe weather conditions to enter the U.S.

This piece was republished from Politico.