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(CHICAGO) — Former President Barack Obama believes the migrant crisis at the border in Del Rio, Texas, is “heartbreaking” and thinks comprehensive immigration reform is needed to fix “a system that, overall, is dysfunctional.”

“It’s no secret that we don’t have that. It’s the reason I proposed comprehensive immigration reform. It’s the reason Joe Biden proposed it during his administration, and it’s something that is long overdue,” Obama told Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts in an exclusive interview that aired Tuesday morning.

As a candidate, Biden vowed to work with Democrats and Republicans to reach common ground on comprehensive immigration reform — efforts that have stalled in Congress for two decades.

Obama said that the crisis in Del Rio “is a painful reminder that we don’t have this right yet and we’ve got more work to do.”

“As big-hearted as he is, nobody understands that better than Joe Biden,” Obama added. “And the question is now: Are we gonna get serious about dealing with this problem in a systemic way, as opposed to these one-offs where we’re constantly reacting to emergencies? And I think that that’s something that every American should wanna put an end to.”

Biden vowed to implement a more humane approach to immigration than his predecessor, President Donald Trump, but now Biden is under fire from members of his own party over his administration’s handling of the migrant surge at the border in Del Rio.

At the center of the criticism from Democrats is the Biden administration’s use of a Trump-era public health order to rapidly expel thousands of those migrants, mostly Haitian nationals, without giving them a chance to apply for asylum within the United States — a move that violates U.S. asylum law, according to advocates challenging it in court.

“Despite the Administration’s rapid deployment of personnel and resources in response to this crisis, much of the strategy to address the care of these vulnerable individuals is deeply concerning,” Democratic Reps. Bennie Thompson and Gregory W. Meeks said in a joint statement Wednesday. “Specifically, we urge the Administration to halt repatriations to Haiti until the country recovers from these devastating crises.”

The Biden administration is defending its use of a Trump-era public health order to deport migrant families in court, arguing that lifting it would lead to overcrowding at DHS facilities, and that an influx of migrants, amid the delta variant surge, poses a public health risk.

So far, more than a dozen flights have taken about 4,000 people back to Haiti, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on CNN on Sunday.

At one point, there were more than 14,000 migrants in Del Rio, putting a strain on Customs and Border Patrol resources.

The influx of migrants from Haiti came after civil unrest erupted this summer following the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that devastated the Caribbean nation.

“Immigration is tough. It always has been because, on the one hand, I think we are naturally a people that wants to help others. And we see tragedy and hardship and families that are desperately trying to get here so that their kids are safe, and they’re in some cases fleeing violence or catastrophe,” Obama said. “At the same time, we’re a nation state. We have borders. The idea that we can just have open borders is something that … as a practical matter, is unsustainable.”

Obama also weighed in on Biden’s attempts to unite Democrats as divisions within the party threaten to imperil the president’s domestic agenda.

Amid ongoing disagreements within the party over a $3.5 trillion so-called “human infrastructure” bill, Biden met last week with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, as well as moderate and progressive Democrats from both chambers.

“And as far as Democrats are concerned, I think President Biden is handling it exactly right, which is one of the great strengths of the Democratic Party is we’re diverse,” Obama said. “We come from all parts of the country. We look like the country as a whole.”

Obama said the country “desperately needs” the programs Biden has planned and predicted that the infrastructure package will pass.

“Any time Democrats try to pass legislation, there’s gonna be some negotiation and back and forth and sometimes some arguments that spill out into the press,” he said. “At the end of the day though, Democrats believe that we can make an economy that is fair, that we can address critical issues like climate change in a smart way.”

Obama has been outspoken in his support for his former vice president and told the New York Times in June that the Biden administration is “finishing the job” begun by the Obama presidency.

Obama is set to attend the groundbreaking of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on Tuesday — a presidential library in the historic Jackson Park neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side that will honor his legacy as the first Black president.

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(WASHINGTON) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi privately rallied Democrats in a caucus meeting Monday evening as the House began debate over the bipartisan infrastructure package.

Pelosi signaled she plans to push forward with a Thursday vote on the Senate’s bipartisan infrastructure bill, regardless of the status of negotiations on the larger Democratic policy package with the Senate.

Members believe it’s an attempt to pressure key senators to reach an agreement on the social spending plan, and some remain skeptical that the package will be ironed out with the backing of enough Democrats to clear the chamber by then.

Pelosi’s announcement to Democrats was a reversal of her earlier pledge to move both pieces of legislation together. It’s also a test of progressives’ vow to block the Senate-passed legislation unless it’s paired with the social spending package.

President Joe Biden and White House press secretary Jen Psaki both indicated earlier Monday afternoon that negotiations could stretch beyond this week.

“What we’re focused on right now is working in lockstep with leadership to move the agenda forward and get it over the finish line,” Psaki said in a briefing, adding, “We’ll see,” when asked if it could go into next week.

On the other side of Capitol Hill, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia did not share the House’s urgency on the social spending package, eschewing progressive threats to tank the bipartisan infrastructure bill Manchin co-authored without a deal certain on the larger social and economic spending package.

“I don’t do really good on threats,” Manchin told reporters. “I’ll guarantee you this: The infrastructure bill will be passed before November 2022, before the election.”

Biden spoke on the phone with Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Monday afternoon before they both met with their respective Democratic colleagues to discuss the infrastructure package, the larger economic plan and avoiding a U.S. default, according to the White House.

The White House said the leaders “covered the outreach that each of the three are doing to Democratic House and Senate members” on the two big bills that represent much of Biden’s domestic priorities, though more specific details about that outreach were not provided.

Biden, Pelosi and Schumer “will continue their close coordination over the coming days,” the White House said.

Pelosi also privately told House members that Biden is negotiating directly with senators over the overall price tag of the reconciliation package.

“We just have to make difficult choices,” she said during the Monday evening caucus meeting. “But we’re still waiting for the number because you cannot prove the design on the legislation without the number. And the president is working on that piece. He’s working on that piece.”

The speaker indicated that she and Schumer are “completely in sync” and plan to have the same bill.

“We are not going to pass a bill that cannot pass – that won’t pass the Senate,” Pelosi told caucus members. “And that’s why we have to come up with a number. But we’re not there yet.”

However, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., told reporters that figure is less important than making sure their “priorities” are addressed.

“It’s about the priorities that are getting funded and specific policies we put forth,” Omar said.

Democrats will continue working behind the scenes to reach an agreement with Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., on a range of different issues from climate change to the size and scope of the education and medical programs in the package, as well as who will be impacted by the tax law changes.

“We can’t have a situation where the Senate doesn’t agree with us, or we leave some issues off the table,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said. “The whole bill needs to be agreed upon, written, etc.”

Some Republicans did signal plans to vote with Democrats on the package — “This is a working piece of legislation that will build, put people to work,” Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, the dean of the House, said — others spoke out against it, despite it being negotiated by both Republicans and Democrats in the Senate.

“It’s a facade to lure everyone into opening the door for Speaker Pelosi’s real priority: a $3.5 trillion tax and spend plan,” Republican Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri, the top Republican on the House Transportation Committee, said.

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(CHICAGO) — President Biden’s far-reaching multitrillion-dollar domestic agenda, in peril because of Democratic infighting, is getting a prominent boost from former President Barack Obama, who told ABC News in an exclusive interview that the country “desperately needs” the programs and that he supports taxing the wealthy to help support the package.

“You’re talking about us stepping up and spending money on providing childcare tax credits — making those permanent to help families, who for a long time, have needed help,” Obama told Good Morning America host Robin Roberts.

“You’re looking at making our infrastructure function more efficiently … you’re talking about rebuilding a lot of buildings, roads, bridges, ports so that they are fortified against climate change. And also, that we start investing in the kinds of energy efficiency that’s going to be required to battle climate change.”

The former president’s comments come as ongoing disagreements between progressive and moderate Democrats in the House delayed a vote on a sweeping $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that passed in the Senate on Aug. 10.

The legislation bolsters funding for the country’s infrastructure — from roads and bridges to transit systems and the electricity grid.

Progressives have indicated that they will not vote on the infrastructure bill until the larger $3.5 trillion so-called “human infrastructure” bill is also ready for a vote, but some of the contents of the larger bill, as well as disagreements over how to pay for it have been a point of contention among Democrats.

The $3.5 trillion bill is a 10-year spending plan that covers a host of Democratic priorities, including investments in health care, child care, eldercare, universal preschool, free community college, as well as efforts to combat climate change.

Republicans and some moderate Democrats have raised concerns over the price tag of the package, while House Democrats have sought to offset the costs by raising taxes on wealthy Americans and corporations — a proposal that Obama said he supports.

“I think that they can afford it. We can afford it. I put myself in this category now,” Obama told Roberts.

“It’s paid for by asking the wealthiest of Americans, who have benefited incredibly over the last several decades — and even in the midst of a pandemic, saw their wealth and assets rise enormously — asking them to pay a few percentage points more in taxes in order to make sure that we have a economy that’s fair for everybody,” Obama said.

“I think anybody who pretends that it’s a hardship for billionaires to pay a little bit more in taxes so that a single mom gets childcare support or so that we can make sure that our communities aren’t inundated by wildfires and floods and that we’re doing something about climate change for the next generation — you know, that’s an argument that is unsustainable,” he added.

Hoping to salvage his agenda, Biden met with members of Congress last week, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., as well as Democratic moderates and progressives from both chambers.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Thursday that the administration is considering a “range of options” for financing the plan.

“Our bar has continued — has always been from the beginning, nothing that would raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000 a year. And certainly we wouldn’t support anything that would,” she added.
Pelosi may delay vote on Senate bipartisan infrastructure bill

Following the meeting with the president Pelosi indicated that a vote on the infrastructure bill in the House was set for Monday Sept. 27 — a timetable that she has since indicated could change.

“I’m never bringing to the floor a bill that doesn’t have the votes,” Pelosi told ABC’s This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos on Sunday.

“You cannot choose the date,” she added. “You have to go when you have the votes in a reasonable time, and we will.”

A White House official told ABC News on Monday that Biden, along with senior White House staff, spoke over the weekend with several members of Congress whose votes are key to getting the legislation passed.

“Engagement is happening through the weekend into Monday and it continues to be clear that there is strong resolve across the caucuses behind passing these bills so that our economy delivers for the middle class and not just those at the top,” the White House official said.

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