“We’re just in a completely different context,” she added.
As the situation at the border changes, the parties are moving further into opposite corners. This week, the administration rolled out a new set of rules to address an expected spike in asylum claims after Title 42’s demise, despite calls from several leading Democrats, including Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, to reconsider.
Mr. Nadler responded by joining the rest of the Democrats in New York’s congressional delegation, including Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the minority leader, and Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, in appealing to President Biden in a letter “to expand the issuance of parole to asylum seekers,” by eliminating a 150-day waiting period for applicants to be allowed to work.
Republicans, by contrast, have accused the administration of holding up progress in Congress by refusing to take more restrictive steps at the border.
“My advice to the administration is to change your asylum policies,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, a key negotiator in past efforts to write comprehensive immigration bills. “Stop the flow. If you can control the flow, regain control of the border, then you have a chance to talk about what we’ve been talking about for 15 years. Without that, you’re probably going nowhere.”
Few see an easy way out of the impasse, especially as Washington gears up for a presidential election that could pit Mr. Biden against former President Donald J. Trump, whose restrictive immigration policies many Republicans are trying to revive.
“This is about the presidential election in 2024,” said Representative Lou Correa, Democrat of California. “I think it’s going to be very difficult under Biden’s first term to actually move in that direction.”
