Biden to unveil immigration order today partially shutting down asylum claims along border

President Biden is take executive action on Tuesday to authorize U.S. immigration authorities to deport large numbers of migrants without processing their asylum claims, the White House said, announcing what is arguably the most restrictive border policy by a Democratic president in history. recent.

Biden’s aggressive move will suspend the processing of asylum claims between official ports of entry along the southern border, allowing U.S. authorities to more quickly reject and deport migrants entering the country illegally, administration officials said in a call with reporters anticipating the order. The president is scheduled to speak at 2pm at the White House.

The partial ban on asylum applications will take effect almost immediately, officials said. Regular asylum processing will not be restored until 14 days after the secretary of homeland security determines that the weekly average of daily illegal border crossings has fallen below 1,500. The proclamation may be activated again if the weekly average of daily crossings between ports of entry exceeds 2,500.

To the consternation of migrant advocates, the seismic shift in policy will seek to overturn US asylum law, which allows migrants on US soil to claim humanitarian protection even if they cross the border illegally. But Biden administration officials have argued that the asylum system is weakening under the weight of more than 3 million pending claims, encouraging migrants to come to the U.S. because it takes years to decide their cases.

What Biden’s immigration order does

Biden is signing a proclamation temporarily suspending the entry of most migrants at the southern border while the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security publish a regulation to implement his directive. The measures are due to come into force at midnight on Tuesday.

Migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border between legal points of entry when the order is in effect will be denied asylum and “immediately removed” to Mexico or their home countries, officials said. The administration, an official added, plans to carry out these deportations “in a matter of days, if not hours.”

Only migrants who affirmatively express a fear of being persecuted or tortured will be screened by U.S. asylum officers, officials said. But they will only be assessed for lower forms of protection – not asylum – and will have to undergo interviews with higher standards to avoid being quickly deported.

The asylum crackdown will not apply to unaccompanied children, those with acute medical conditions or fleeing imminent danger, and migrants using legal routes to enter the U.S., such as the system powered by the government smartphone app known as CBP One. administration will continue to process approximately 1,500 migrants at ports of entry under the CBP One process.

To justify the policy change, the administration cites a 1950s law known as 212(f) that authorizes the president to suspend the entry of foreign nationals when the executive branch determines that their arrival is “harmful” to U.S. interests. This same law became infamous under the Trump administration, which invoked it to drastically restrict legal and illegal immigration, including travel from certain Muslim-majority countries.

Officials said the partial asylum ban will apply to so-called extracontinental migrants, such as those from China, who have been traveling to the U.S. border in record numbers in recent years. But they said Mexico has agreed to take them back, raising the specter that some migrants will still be released on court notices as some, including China, limit or reject U.S. deportations.

A major political and political shift

Mr. Biden’s policy is modeled after one of the pillars of a bipartisan border security agreement that failed twice in Congress due to widespread Republican opposition, giving administration officials the opportunity to argue that they are acting unilaterally on Americans’ top concerns in the absence of congressional action.

While sweeping in nature, the announcement will not completely “close” or “shut down” the southern border, as asylum processing, commerce, and legal travel will continue unimpeded at official ports of entry.

In many ways, Biden’s drastic change on the border stems from the intense political pressure he has faced from Republicans and some Democrats over immigration, one of his most controversial issues in polls.

But it is also a response to the reality on the ground along the U.S.-Mexico border, where U.S. authorities have reported record levels of migrant apprehensions, including more than 2 million in each of the past two years. This year, migrant apprehensions are fell by more than 50% from historic highs recorded late last year, in part due to a months-long campaign by Mexico to stop migrants from reaching the US border.

An administration official said Tuesday’s announcement would “strengthen the asylum system by preventing it from being overwhelmed and supported by those who have no legitimate claims.”

Andrea Flores, a former Biden administration official, denounced the president’s move, saying it could set a dangerous precedent.

“If the president now claims that he can end asylum whenever he wants – even after the number of borders has fallen by more than 50% – this precedent gives future presidents the pretext to suspend any avenue of immigration to the United States,” he said. Flowers.

Sara Cook contributed reporting.