President Biden is considering executive action that could block people who enter the United States illegally from applying for asylum, people familiar with the proposal said Wednesday. The measure would end a long-term guarantee that gives those who set foot on U.S. soil the right to seek safe haven.
The order overrides key policies from a bipartisan bill blocked by Republicans earlier this month, even though it contained some of the most significant border security restrictions Congress has considered in years. It will be enforced.
The bill would effectively close the border to new immigrants if an average of 5,000 or more immigrants attempt to enter the country illegally each day in a week, or if 8,500 or more immigrants attempt to enter the country illegally in any given day. become.
The measure the White House is considering would create a similar trigger to prevent new arrivals from seeking asylum, according to people with knowledge of the proposal. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal reviews.
If passed, the bill would mirror President Donald J. Trump's 2018 effort to block immigration, which was attacked by Democrats and blocked by federal courts.
While there is no doubt that such action would face legal challenges, the fact that Biden is considering it means that he entered office promising a more humane system after the Trump era. It shows how much has shifted on immigration issues since then.
Biden is taking an even tougher stance as the number of people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border reaches record levels, pushing the chronically underfunded and understaffed asylum system to breaking point.
Still, even if Mr. Biden tries to take unilateral action to reduce the number of asylum seekers, a lack of resources will still be a major obstacle to major changes at the border. U.S. officials have said they need a huge infusion of money to hire Border Patrol agents and asylum workers and expand detention facilities.
A White House official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the plans being discussed, but said no decisions had been made.
But people with knowledge of the proposal said Mr. Biden could invoke the authority to act under Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, which allows the president to do things that are “detrimental to the national interest.” Those who are determined to have the same status are permitted to have their entry suspended. US. ” During his presidency, Trump used the same authority to impose travel bans on people from several Muslim-majority countries.
Lee Gellert, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, who helped push back against Mr. Trump's efforts, said his group would challenge such policies.
“The court emphasized that the Trump administration cannot deny asylum solely based on the mode of entry,” Gelernt said. “We hope the Biden administration does not consider repurposing this patently illegal and unworkable policy.”
But regardless of the outcome, a legal battle could allow Mr. Biden to try to neutralize one of his biggest political vulnerabilities: the chaos at the southern border. Republicans have repeatedly used the border crisis to portray Biden as weak on enforcement. A legal battle could shine a spotlight on Republicans' refusal to grant border enforcement powers through legislation.
The Biden administration has spent years trying to curb immigration, including limiting asylum for people who transit through Mexico on their way to the United States. The policy made it more difficult for immigrants who passed through third countries en route to the United States and did not apply for protection there to obtain asylum.
But while the policy restrictions raise the bar for migrants to obtain asylum, U.S. officials will not be able to do so properly without the kind of resources that Biden had hoped to approve from Congress. If defeated, the bill would have provided billions of dollars in funding, including hiring thousands of asylum workers to process applications.
Some conditions at the southern border are far beyond the president's control, including historic migration across the hemisphere from Venezuela, Haiti, Honduras and other countries facing instability, violence, and natural disasters. There are some.
But Biden is under pressure to do something from both parties, not just his usual Republican critics. And the crisis goes beyond the borders themselves. “We want to take the border to President Biden,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott said, sending buses full of migrants to Democratic cities far north.
Cities were overwhelmed when immigrants and their families in the United States arrived, often without coats. Leaders of the president's own party began crying out for help.
That pressure has disrupted immigration policy in an election year, giving Biden significant leeway to support border measures once denounced by Democrats and championed by Trump.
Mr. Biden directly accused Mr. Trump of using his influence over the Republican Party to scrap a bipartisan immigration deal that Republicans had long demanded.
Biden predicted in a speech earlier this month that Republicans would move to block the bill. “Why? It's simple,” he said. “Donald Trump. Because Donald Trump doesn't think this is good for him politically.”
Jonathan Swan Contributed to reporting from Washington.
