Joe Biden on Tuesday was set to announce an executive order that would reportedly shut down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers attempting to cross outside of lawful ports of entry, when a daily threshold of crossings is exceeded.
The move comes amid rising public concern over the number of migrants crossing into the US, with polls showing a majority of Americans dissatisfied with the president’s handling of the border. The White House has been under immense pressure from Republicans and some Democrats to reduce the number of migrants arriving at the southern border.
Many progressive and Hispanic lawmakers expressed alarm at the sweep of the order, the most aggressive border move taken by the administration so far.
Under the executive order, which Biden plans to sign alongside several border-town mayors, the administration would shut down asylum requests to the US-Mexico border once the number of daily encounters reaches 2,500 between legal ports of entry, according to the Associated Press. The border would reopen once the number of crossings eases to 1,500. That could mean the order takes effect immediately. Legal challenges are expected.
The order is not expected to hinder other border activity, such as trade or traffic.
The administration spent several months examining whether Biden had the authority to “shut down” the border, as he told Univision in an April interview. Republicans have insisted Biden already has broad authority to act on the border, but has refused to do so out of deference to the progressives in his base.
Immigration and border policy are at the heart of Republicans’ 2024 campaign message, with Trump bashing Biden as “weak” and vowing to unleash the biggest mass deportation of undocumented migrants in US history should he win re-election in November.
The order reportedly relies on the same legal framework adopted by Trump to restrict unlawful crossings in 2018, but was blocked by a federal court. At the time, Democrats assailed Trump’s border policies as draconian and rooted in xenophobia.
The action comes months after the failure of a bipartisan border security deal tied to a foreign aid package that collapsed after Trump announced his opposition, wary of handing Biden a political victory on his signature issue. Senate Republicans, at Trump’s behest, voted down the proposal.
The Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, last month held another vote on the border package, which included measures Republicans have been clamoring for, including a far-reaching clampdown on the number of migrants allowed to claim asylum. The measure failed, as expected, but Schumer hoped to underscore Republican resistance to the deal they helped negotiate.
Republicans have already responded to the proposed action, accusing Biden of delaying action on the border.
“Joe Biden’s latest border scam isn’t fooling anyone – as migrant crossings hit record highs year after year on his watch, he refused to shut down the border,” said Philip Letsou, spokesman for the National Republican senatorial committee. “But now that he’s up for re-election and trailing badly, Biden’s changed his mind.”
