In a significant decision to cease illegal immigration, President Joe Biden’s administration instituted a broad asylum ban on migrants caught illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. The imminent measure, which comes months ahead of the Presidential elections where illegal immigration is one of the key issues, allows the US to quickly deport or turn back the migrants caught crossing illegally. Nonetheless, there will be exceptions for unaccompanied children, people who face serious medical or safety threats, and victims of trafficking. ]
Since the Presidential elections are just around the corner, Biden has toughened his stance on immigration as he faces Republican Trump and his hardline stance on immigration as the Republican candidate vowed a wide-ranging crackdown if re-elected. Notably, when Biden took office in 2021, he vowed to reverse some of Donald Trump’s restrictive immigration policies, however, now the US grapples with record levels of migrants caught crossing illegally, straining the US border.
The announcement of the new border law came just a couple of days after Claudia Sheinbaum became Mexico’s first female president. A congratulatory call from President Joe Biden on Monday came amid reports that he would sign an executive order limiting asylum claims at the country’s southern border, the most drastic immigration crackdown of his time in the White House.
The new asylum ban becomes active when the daily average of border arrests tops 2,500 over a week. In April, the US border arrests averaged 4,300 per day according to the most recent government statistics available. The ban will be paused when arrests drop below an average of 1,500 per day for three weeks. The last time crossings fell to that level was in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in July 2020 when global travel was at historic lows.
Speaking on the newly introduced proclamation, President Biden clarified that asylum access would remain available to migrants who registered for an appointment or used other legal pathways instead of crossing illegally. With the big measure, the US would be able to gain control over the US border, restoring order. Joe Biden also stated that the ban will remain in place until the number of people trying to enter illegally is reduced to a significant level.
Pertinently, even as President Biden rolled out new border restrictions, he criticized Donald Trump’s stance on illegal immigration, specifically his statement that immigrants are “poisoning the blood” of the US. “I will never demonize immigrants,” Biden said.
It needs to be noted here that when it comes to immigration policies, the public prefers Trump over Biden, according to a Reuters poll conducted in mid-May.
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