One of President Joe Biden’s greatest political weaknesses is his handling of the issue of illegal immigration, and the Biden administration is moving swiftly to use its authority to deny asylum to those individuals.
In an effort to address the border problem via executive action, Biden introduced the expansive legislation on Tuesday afternoon at the White House. This comes after a bipartisan effort failed earlier this year. Just weeks before the first presidential debate, Biden is attempting to obtain the upper hand on immigration by utilizing the same authority that former president Donald Trump attempted to use while in office. This measure represents the most drastic move on the part of the administration regarding the US southern border.
At midnight, the move would be put into force, according to the White House.
During his statement at the White House, Biden stated that he was forced to take executive action due to Republicans in Congress blocking a bipartisan border solution.
Despite Republican resistance, Biden plans to use his unilateral authority to resolve the border crisis independently.
After a certain number of days have passed, the new executive order prohibits unlawful border crossers from requesting asylum, breaking with decades-long precedent. Individuals seeking asylum in Mexico will be denied entry or sent back to their home country unless specific conditions are met.
On Monday, border officials saw approximately 3,500 migrants who crossed the border unlawfully, surpassing the threshold required for the executive action to be implemented, according to a Homeland Security official.
Following a brief respite from record numbers late last year, Homeland Security officials have resumed the practice of apprehending somewhat under 4,000 migrants daily at the US-Mexico border. In the face of unprecedented migration throughout the Western Hemisphere, the Biden administration has long struggled with the flow of migrants entering the United States through the southern border.
It was possible to toggle the measure’s activation. When the average number of interactions between ports of entry drops below 1,500 per day, senior government officials informed reporters on Tuesday that it will be lifted.
Exempt individuals include, but are not limited to, children traveling alone, victims of serious forms of trafficking, people posing an immediate and extreme danger to their own safety or health, and a few others. Appointments can still be scheduled for migrants to present their asylum claims at ports of entry through the CBP One mobile app.
Instead of waiting for partisan legislation to resolve the border situation, Biden and his administration made it plain that they preferred it.
Since there is no other way to reform the current dysfunctional system, I would have preferred to resolve this matter through bipartisan legislation. In order to staff the courts with additional judges, asylum officers, and Border Patrol agents. In his remarks from the White House’s East Room, Biden stated, “But Republicans have left me no choice.”.
Some have compared the action to those done by Trump and have been critical of it. The Trump administration was criticized by Biden as “inhumane” when he was running for president. During a press conference on Tuesday, an official teased the new measures by saying they are distinct from Trump’s actions and that they are ready to face legal challenges “frankly, from both sides of the political spectrum.”
According to one official, “the Trump administration attacked almost every facet of the immigration system, and did so in a shameful and inhumane way” (Tuesday). This won’t put a stop to religiously motivated bans or forcibly remove children from their moms. The Trump administration’s actions did not incorporate the limited humanitarian exceptions to the asylum ban, such as individuals confronting an immediate and severe danger to their life or safety or a severe medical emergency.
In response to progressives’ and others’ criticism, the president drew parallels to actions made during Trump’s presidency.
Please be patient; the goodwill of the American people is running low as it is, and I urge those who think my measures are excessively stringent to stop complaining. There is no room for inaction. Steps must be taken. Our actions ought to be in harmony with our principles and laws. How we Americans hold our principles. I am taking these measures now, not to abandon our American identity, but to guarantee that it will be preserved for decades to come,” he declared.
Biden firmly rejected the previous president as well.
Never in my life will I say that immigrants are a nation’s “blood poisoning.” Nor will I ever try to malign them. Plus, I will never, ever allow the border patrol to forcibly remove a child from their family. For religious reasons, I will not impose a travel ban. “My predecessor has threatened to use the US military to raid American neighborhoods in order to forcibly remove millions of people from their homes and families, and to set up detention camps for those who await deportation. If I am elected president, I will not follow in his footsteps,” Biden declared.
Although senior administration officials are aware that federal resources are already tight, they insist that the measure will allow them to expedite the removal of individuals. We will remove migrants within days or hours if they do not assert a fear; if they do, they will be screened and removed if they are determined to be ineligible.
Officials from the Department of Homeland Security have been making plans to handle an expected increase in border crossings, similar to how they handle similar situations in the summer. This includes allocating resources to handle a possible spike and ensuring enough personnel are available. The action was mentioned by senior administration officials on Tuesday as a means to prevent that possible increase.
As part of its ongoing efforts to reduce illegal migration in the hemisphere, Mexico has considerably increased immigration enforcement and has previously agreed to accept up to 30,000 migrants per month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Their cooperation is crucial to the success of this action.
On Tuesday, officials would not confirm or deny whether new negotiations had taken place with Mexico in relation to Tuesday’s executive order.