House Speaker John Boehner delivered an ultimatum to President Obama regarding the humanitarian crisis at the southern border during his weekly press briefing Thursday, arguing that if the president does not adopt elements of the House Republican plan to deal with the influx of Central American immigrants coming into the country from Mexico, Republicans will likely not be able to accept any plan the White House presents to Congress.
"I want to be clear: there’s going to be no blank check for the president and his allies," Boehner said.
The House Republican plan to solve the border crisis, released Wednesday, proposed changes to a 2008 law that increases the difficulty of deporting migrants entering the U.S. from Central America. Alterations to that legislation would allow Central Americans to be deported as efficiently as migrants from Mexico.
Boehner argued the Obama administration has "flip-flopped" in their approach to solving the crisis at the border and has sent "contradictory messages" from the start.
"The administration started earlier this month by signaling some openness to changes in the 2008 law to accelerate the process of returning these children to their home countries. The president called for this change, the Secretary of Homeland Security called for this change, and other administration officials have called for this change. Now, the president and his team have apparently flip-flopped. Now they want billions in new spending, with no commitment to actually solving the problem," Boehner said.
The "billions" Boehner refers to here is the $3.7 billion of emergency funding Obama requested from Congress on July 7 to address the devolving situation. Although plans clearly differ greatly at this stage, Boehner said he was "still hopeful" about "finding common ground", speaking to a potential future compromise between Republicans and the White House.
Boehner also argued the Obama administration has consistently used tumultuous times to tax Americans at higher levels at the expense of effective debate, saying the VA scandal was "a similar situation...[where there was] good progress until the White House began demanding more money, with no accountability and no strings attached."
"Some in Washington may view every new crisis as an opportunity to demand more taxpayer dollars, but the American people don’t see it that way. They want solutions," Boehner said.
Here is Boehner's full press briefing:
SEE ALSO: BOEHNER TO OBAMA: Tell Us Where You Stand On The Key Issue In The Border Crisis