Biden to sign executive order on US-Mexico border limiting migrant inflows

WASHINGTON (NewsNation) – President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order on Tuesday that would limit the flow of illegal migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Biden is considering giving himself the power to deport immigrants illegally in the country once crossings exceed a certain number per day, a threshold that is frequently exceeded, including last April.

The advance order comes as Biden faces growing criticism from both parties over the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, with a record number of encounters with migrants straining federal resources.

Tuesday’s signing would come two days after Mexico elected a new president, who will become the first female president in the country’s 200-year history.

2,500 daily migrant crossings would trigger a strike

The Associated Press reported the order would close the border after 2,500 daily encounters and the border would reopen when the number of encounters fell below 1,500.

The impact of the 2,500 number means the executive order could take effect immediately because daily crossings are higher than that now.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, there were 179,725 encounters by Border Patrol agents along the southern border in April, which represents an average of 5,991 encounters per day.

So far this fiscal year, CBP has reported more than 1.5 million encounters along the southern border, consistent with last year’s record numbers.

The last time the daily average dropped to 1,500 encounters was in July 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Associated Press.

Event at the White House leaves out some officials from the border city

Biden is expected to unveil his plan alongside invited mayors of border cities; however, some communities hardest hit by the border crisis feel they have been left out.

Several Republican and Democratic mayors were not invited, including the mayor of El Cajon, California, in the San Diego Border Patrol sector, who shared a statement with NewsNation that Biden handpicked the invited mayors.

“This is nothing more than a sham and an insult to those of us dealing with the real consequences of their failed border policies,” said Mayor Bill Wells.

Brownsville, Texas, Mayor John Cowen and Edinburgh, Texas, Mayor Ramiro Garza confirmed to the Associated Press that they were invited.

The White House also invited all Democratic senators to the event, but several in competitive races refused the invitation, Axios reported. At least Senator Jon Tester of Montana; Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin; Jacky Rosen of Nevada; and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania – all of whom seek re-election in swing states – will not attend, per Axios.

Progressives warn against asylum crackdown

Jennie Murray, president and CEO of the nonpartisan immigrant advocacy group National Immigration Forum, told NewsNation that her organization does not support executive orders and that she believes a cap on asylum seekers would just be a “Band-Aid” for the problem.

“We don’t need to see anything else being escalated there and an executive order. Although it appears on the surface that it would be a solution, it will make the problem worse, we will have more asylum seekers, you know, supported.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told “The Hill Sunday” that the executive order needs to include limiting and prohibiting migrants from crossing the border illegally.

“The devil is always in the details. Like that Senate bill that passed, there were a lot of great ideas. But for every good idea, there was a gap on the next page that basically meant nothing. So I would like to make sure that we are building the wall, that we are limiting and prohibiting these people from crossing the border illegally,” she said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, refused to give the Biden administration credit for taking action at the U.S. border as it works to crack down on illegal immigration. He said the bill is “a little too late now” on “Fox News Sunday”.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.