Continued controversy over President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda faced criticism from an unexpected source when Republican Senator James Lankford (R-OK) suggested that former President Joe Biden had proposed a better plan for immigration reform. Speaking to CBS News, Lankford said Biden’s 2024 immigration bill “should have passed” as it addressed many loopholes critics say encourage illegal immigration.

Lankford explained that current asylum laws contain gaps exploited by criminal cartels, generating billions of dollars in illegal profits. Biden’s bill would have allowed the government to close the border to new asylum claims if illegal crossings averaged over 5,000 daily for a week. It also aimed to limit humanitarian parole, a provision that lets migrants enter the U.S. with minimal oversight while awaiting court dates, which can be delayed for years.

The senator mocked a conservative commentator who recently called for closing these loopholes, pointing out that Biden’s legislation already tried to do just that. However, the bipartisan bill ultimately failed in the Senate after Trump urged Republicans to oppose it, citing political and policy concerns.

Meanwhile, Trump has tightened border security using existing laws and executive authority. His recently signed “big, beautiful” bill allocates hundreds of billions to immigration enforcement, including \$170 billion for ICE to hire 10,000 officers with signing bonuses.

Ahead of the bill’s passage, Trump warned on social media that failure to pass it would trigger the largest tax increase in history. The legislation includes \$4.5 trillion in tax cuts, Medicaid and food stamp reforms, and \$350 billion to enhance border and national security efforts, including funding for deportations.

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