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“President Joe Biden on Tuesday unveiled plans to enact immediate significant restrictions on migrants seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border… The long-anticipated presidential proclamation would bar migrants from being granted asylum when U.S. officials deem that the southern border is overwhelmed…
“The order will go into effect when the number of border encounters between ports of entry hits 2,500 per day, according to senior administration officials. That means Biden’s order should go into effect immediately, because the daily averages are higher now. Average daily arrests for illegal crossings from Mexico were last below 2,500 in January 2021, the month that Biden took office.” AP News
The left is divided about the new policy.
“It is an open question as to whether Biden can lawfully close the border to asylum-seekers and this latest crackdown will almost certainly put more migrants in harm’s way. Many potential migrants will be forced to wait in dangerous conditions in northern Mexico, where threats of kidnapping, sexual violence and even murder are not uncommon…
“In 2019, Biden said, ‘The idea that a country of 330 million people cannot absorb people who are in desperate need and who are justifiably fleeing oppression is absolutely bizarre.’ How unfortunate that the same president who championed the rights of asylum-seekers seems to be willing to toss aside their legal and human rights so easily… Restricting asylum at the border was bad policy under Trump and it is bad policy now.”
Raul Reyes, CNN
Others argue, “Welcoming newcomers with dignity is important, but our capacity to do so is not infinite. For that reason, I don’t fault the Biden administration for trying to turn down the spigot. My biggest question is why it took so long. As Border Patrol agents have long said, if asylum seekers were held in humane and family-friendly settings while their asylum claims were reviewed, instead of allowed in, the numbers at the border would quickly drop, since the main reason most come is to work…
“But the administration ignored that recommendation and — thanks to cynical opposition from Trump — Congress failed to pass a bipartisan proposal that would have helped tackle the problem. Now the problem has gotten so bad that the asylum system itself is basically broken… Those on the left who are sure to criticize this action as a betrayal should reflect on whether their advocacy has sent the Democratic Party down a political blind alley. If we want to protect the right to asylum, we can’t ignore the widespread abuse of that system.”
Farah Stockman, New York Times
“It’s unlikely that voters for whom immigration is a decisive issue are going to be satisfied with a cap on migrant border crossings unaccompanied by more general restrictions on immigration and/or deportation of undocumented people…
“No matter what Biden does, he will never be able to compete with Trump as a professed border guardian, unless he’s willing to take steps that really would create a revolt among Democrats. But what this step and others might do is reduce the saliency of the ‘border crisis’ and thus allow voters to focus on subjects more congenial to the president…
“If the administration can strike the right balance, it’s possible it could turn down the temperature on border security and leave progressive dissenters in the familiar position of having to swallow policies they don’t like because the alternative is a second Trump presidency. Making the best of a bad situation may be the most Democrats can hope for on immigration.”
Ed Kilgore, New York Magazine
The right is skeptical of the new policy, noting that it has many exceptions.
The right is skeptical of the new policy, noting that it has many exceptions.
“Now, five months out from the presidential election, Biden realizes that he’s out of talking points and has apparently decided he has no other option than to pretend to address a disaster he himself created… This [2,500] limit is laughable, since between that and other programs Biden is still going to let more than 1.5 million people a year, higher than almost any other point in history…
“But it’s even worse than that: His own Department of Justice has shown little willingness to defend that authority in suits brought by immigrants’ advocates, who attacked nearly identical (but more effective) Trump policies before liberal judges. Will Biden’s lawyers change their tack now that his administration’s policies are in the dock? Maybe, but don’t be surprised if this proposal is quickly blocked in the courts, at which point the White House will pivot and again blame congressional inaction for the parlous state of affairs at the US-Mexico line.”
Andrew Arthur, New York Post
“Migrants could still seek asylum at ports of entry using the CBP One mobile app, which would be excluded from the daily triggers. A White House fact sheet says the order also exempts migrants if they ‘faced an imminent and extreme threat to life or safety, such as an imminent threat of rape, kidnapping, torture, or murder.’ This sounds much like the way the dysfunctional asylum system currently works. Unaccompanied minors aren’t covered by the order, which might encourage more of them to seek asylum…
“Polls show that the border has moved to the top of voter concerns, and a significant majority believe Donald Trump would do a better job handling it. Perhaps because he did. Encounters along the U.S.-Mexico border have nearly tripled since 2019 and they’ve increased more than six-fold since 2018… Any fair look at the last four years makes clear that the magnitude of this border crisis has been made almost entirely in the Biden White House.”
Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal
“‘Doing nothing is not an option,’ President Biden declared of the border crisis Tuesday — after three-plus years when he did far worse than nothing… He’s delivered an endless series of lies on this issue (as everywhere else), repeatedly insisting the border is ‘secure,’ then claiming he has no authority to take any action unless Congress acts… Now he admits he can act (in fact, he has the power to set the level at zero, not 17,500 a week)…
“Biden acted dramatically to open the border the day he took office; he refused to reverse himself even as the mix of migrants swelled from the Central Americans of the initial surge to include every nation on the planet. And he’s offered nothing but bogus fixes ever since. Even if his new order does finally, actually slow the tide (from preposterously unsustainable to merely unsustainable levels), voters have to wonder if he’ll reverse it the day after the election.”
Editorial Board, New York Post
A libertarian's take
“There will always be people willing to make risky journeys across the border, even if they can no longer access asylum. Border measures like Biden's push sufficiently desperate migrants into more remote, dangerous, and deadly corridors—or, for those who choose to wait for restrictions to lift, into tent cities along the border where they may experience rape, torture, or kidnapping…
“Biden's border order might make sense when viewed as an election-year attempt to claw back some credibility on a top-of-mind voter priority. But it lays bare an unfortunate truth: Neither of the major-party presidential candidates is willing to prioritize humane, commonsense solutions to border challenges.”
Fiona Harrigan, Reason
