In an effort to neutralise immigration as a political risk before of the November elections, President Joe Biden announced intentions on Tuesday to implement immediate, significant limits on migrants seeking refuge at the US-Mexico border.

The much-awaited presidential proclamation would prevent asylum from being awarded to migrants when U.S. authorities determine that the southern border is overrun. Following the failure of a bipartisan border security agreement in Congress, which was rejected by the majority of Republican lawmakers at the urging of former President Donald Trump, the presumed GOP presidential contender, the Democratic president had been considering taking unilateral action for months.

Biden stated that although he desired more comprehensive legislative action, “Republicans have left me no choice.” Instead, he insisted that “I believe immigration has always been the lifeblood of America” and stated that he was acting independently to “gain control of the border.”

Biden stated, “Trump told the Republicans he wanted to use the problem to attack me, not to fix it.” “It was a political ploy that was cynical, incredibly cynical, and a total disservice to the American people who want us to fix the border rather than weaponize it.”

However, Trump took to social media to attack Biden once more about immigration, claiming that the Democrat had “totally surrendered our Southern Border” and that his order was “all for show” ahead of their June 27 presidential debate.

When will Biden’s new border policy be implemented?
According to senior administration officials, the directive would take effect when there are 2,500 border interactions between ports of entry per day. Given that the daily averages have increased, Biden’s directive ought to take effect right now. Less than 2,500 people were arrested on average per day for entering the country illegally from Mexico in January 2021, the month Biden took office. At the height of the COVID-19 epidemic in July 2020, border interactions last decreased to 1,500 per day.

Under a seven-day average, the limits would remain in place for two weeks once the daily encounter numbers are at or below 1,500 between ports of entry. Those numbers  were first reported by The Associated Press on Monday.

Increased enforcement with Mexico following high-level bilateral discussions in late December, according to Homeland Security, has reduced illegal crossings but is “likely to be less effective over time,” necessitating further action. “Smuggling networks are flexible, adapting to new policies and procedures,” the government stated in a federal regulation that was released on Tuesday.

According to the government, from July through September, the number of arrests for unlawful crossings might increase to an average of 6,700 per day.

After this order goes into force, immigrants who show up at the border and do not show that they are afraid to go back to their native countries risk being immediately deported from the United States, maybe even in a matter of hours or days. Those immigrants may be subject to penalties that last up to five years.

In the meantime, a U.S. asylum officer will conduct a more thorough screening process than is now the case for anyone who expresses that fear or plans to apply for asylum. They can seek more restricted humanitarian protection, such as the United Nations Convention Against Torture, if they make it through the screening process.

The president and CEO of Global Refuge, Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, expressed his displeasure with the administration’s decision to tighten restrictions on individuals seeking refuge at our southern border and exercising their legal rights. “While it is true that no one likes to see immigrants who are coming to use the asylum system in order to obtain a better life or a better opportunity for employment, we see that our clients and other immigrants are escaping the worst possible situations at a time of unprecedented global migration and believe that the U.S. is still a beacon of hope and refuge.”

On Tuesday, there were no obvious indications of an immediate impact at the border.

The U.S. has the right to impose further limits, according to Iselande Peralta, a Haitian mother and her 3-year-old son who is lodging at a migrant shelter in Reynosa, Mexico. She has been attempting to schedule an appointment via the CBP One web app for the past ten months, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Peralta, 26, believes that CBP One is her best option and would never consider crossing the border illegally.

“I wouldn’t cross the river, even if I was insane.” With a small child like him, how would I go about doing that? I’m ready to hold out,” she remarked.

Biden’s decision comes at a time when the number of migrants encountered at the border has been steadily declining since December. However, senior administration officials argue that the numbers are still excessive and that they may, as is customary, increase in better weather.

How the Biden directive would be carried out
For example, top administration officials claim that under this order, Mexico will continue to admit up to 30,000 residents per month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela once they are denied entrance from the United States, as per an arrangement already in place between the two countries. However, it’s unclear what happens to foreign nationals who are sent away due to Biden’s order.

In an interview with reporters, four senior administration officials—who insisted on remaining anonymous—acknowledged that Biden’s objective of expeditiously deporting migrants is hampered by a lack of financing from Congress. When it comes to holding migrant families in detention, the administration is also subject to specific legal restrictions, which it has stated it will continue to follow by those obligations.

Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act gives a president the ability to restrict immigration for particular migrants if it is believed that their entry would be “detrimental” to the interests of the country. This is the legal basis for Biden’s claim. Despite promises to sue over the direction from well-known legal groups, senior officials were certain they could carry out Biden’s order.

“We plan to file a lawsuit,” declared Lee Gelernt, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer who won comparable court battles during Trump’s administration. The prohibition on asylum is unlawful, just as it was during Trump’s botched attempt to obtain it.

Senior administration officials insisted that Biden’s proposal is very different from Trump’s, who relied on the same sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act as Biden. These include Trump’s efforts in 2018 to tighten asylum laws and his 2017 directive to bar citizens of countries with a majority of Muslims.

In Biden’s order, a number of immigrant groups are listed as being exempt for humanitarian reasons. These groups include unaccompanied youngsters, victims of human trafficking, and those with serious medical issues.

Additionally, the instruction would not apply to immigrants who use the CBP One app to schedule appointments with border officers at ports of entry. Since the app’s inception last year, about 1,450 appointments have been arranged to enable migrants to file requests for asylum.

Advocates for immigrants are concerned that Biden’s proposal would just lengthen the already months-long queue of migrants awaiting an appointment via the app, particularly in the absence of a corresponding financial boost for immigration authorities.

According to Jennie Murray, the head of the National Immigration Forum, it would also be challenging for border authorities to swiftly deport migrants given that a large number of them are already assigned to assist with shelters and other humanitarian projects.

“Customs and Border Protection does not have enough staff to handle the current volume of apprehensions, which would lead to even more chaos,” the spokesperson stated.

Biden’s directive was brushed aside by Republicans as merely a “political stunt” designed to demonstrate more stringent immigration enforcement in the run-up to the election.

At a press conference, GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson stated, “He tried to convince us all for all this time that there was no way he could possibly fix the mess.” “Keep in mind that he designed it.”

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