US President Joe Biden has signed an executive order barring migrants who illegally cross the border into Mexico from being granted asylum, the White House press office reports.
Migrants caught crossing the border illegally can be quickly deported or returned to Mexico under the measure, which will take effect just after midnight. Exceptions will be made for unaccompanied children, people who are in serious medical or security danger and victims of human trafficking, the US Department of Homeland Security said.
Biden, a Democrat, has toughened his approach to border security as immigration has become a top issue for Americans ahead of the November election, where he will face Republican Donald Trump, who has taken a tough stance on immigration as a centrepiece of his administration and has promised a wide-ranging crackdown if re-elected.
During a White House news conference on the announcement, Biden said access to asylum would still be open to migrants who registered for admission through an app known as CBP One or used other legal means instead of crossing the border illegally. He said:
“This action will help us gain control of our border and restore order into the process. This ban will remain in place until the number of people trying to enter illegally is reduced to a level that our system can effectively manage.”
Confrontation with Trump
Even as Biden imposed new restrictions, he criticised Trump’s most controversial policies, including separating migrant families at the border and saying immigrants in the US illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country.” Biden said:
“I will never demonise immigrants.”
According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in mid-May, registered voters prefer Trump to Biden by a margin of 17 percentage points when it comes to immigration policy.
The asylum ban will remain in place until the average number of apprehensions of migrants crossing the USA-Mexico border illegally is less than 1,500 per day. In April, this figure fell to about 3.8 thousand. In case of overcoming the mark of 2.5 thousand after the removal of restrictions, the White House promised to again stop providing illegal migrants with asylum.
The initiative was blocked earlier
Earlier, a group of senators from the Republican and Democratic parties prepared a bill that would significantly tighten immigration policy. In particular, the bill contained a provision that would oblige the US president to close the border with Mexico if during one week it is illegally crossed more than 5 thousand times a day or if on one day this figure exceeds 8.5 thousand.
However, the majority of Republicans blocked the initiative, not allowing it to be considered: congressmen argued that the final bill is still far from their expectations, and Biden already has full authority to immediately close the border with Mexico.
Biden believes that the Republicans’ decision was driven by their desire to prolong the migration crisis in order to secure a presidential election victory for their most likely candidate, Donald Trump.
The White House said in a statement that the bill would increase the number of border guards and immigration officers, make sweeping reforms to the asylum system and invest heavily in technology to detect the deadly opioid fentanyl, which also enters the US through the border with Mexico.
