President Donald Trump is outpacing the GOP-led Congress in enacting a series of campaign promises that were outlined in the Republican Party’s 2024 platform that led the party to sweep the White House, House of Representatives and Senate.
Border security is a major focus of the 2024 GOP platform, which calls for sealing the border and stopping the "migrant invasion."
Trump has issued multiple executive orders related to border security and immigration law enforcement, which have contributed to a record drop in border encounters with illegal immigrants.
Congress hasn’t yet sent a border security or immigration-related bill to Trump to sign.
The "Big Beautiful Bill Act" includes some border provisions but the bill is still tied up in the Senate as Republicans debate changes to make to the House-passed version.
GOP leaders are still shooting for a July 4 deadline to pass the bill.
"ICE officers are facing down some of the worst criminals in our country every day, and they are facing a 412% increase in assaults. Just the other week, an ICE officer was injured while arresting a criminal alien. ICE needs backup, and it needed it yesterday," wrote Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, in a recent op-ed.
According to the White House, the so-called "megabill" would finish Trump’s border wall as well as boost Border Patrol and ICE agents on the "frontlines with the largest border security investment in history."
Trump has also cracked down on sanctuary cities through executive actions by deporting illegal immigrants with criminal records in cities that do not cooperate with ifederal immigration authorities. Despite the introduction of several bills related to ending sanctuary cities, Congress hasn’t been able to send a bill to Trump’s desk.