President Biden is expected to sign an executive order on Tuesday that would allow the temporary closure of the US border with Mexico.
Mr. Senior Biden aides have briefed members of Congress in recent days on the upcoming move, telling them to expect the president to sign the order alongside mayors from South Texas.
“I have been briefed on the pending executive order,” said Rep. Henry Cuellar, Democrat of Texas, who previously spoke to Mr. Biden has been criticized for not increasing enforcement at the border during his presidency. “I certainly support it because I have been advocating for these measures for years. While the order is yet to be issued, I am in favor of the details that have been provided to me so far.
This order Mr. It represents the most restrictive border policy instituted by Biden or any modern Democrat, and President Donald J. Echoing Trump’s 2018 effort.
While the executive action is almost certain to face legal challenges, Mr. Biden is under intense political pressure to address illegal immigration, a top concern of voters ahead of this year’s presidential election.
Mr. The decision shows how immigration politics has tilted to the right during Biden’s presidency. Polls suggest that even within the president’s own party, support for Mr Trump’s successful border measures, once condemned by Democrats, is growing.
The order would allow border officials to stop migrants from seeking asylum and quickly turn them away once border crossings cross a certain threshold. If there is an average of 5,000 border crossings in a week or 8,500 in a single day, Mr. Government officials discussed allowing Biden to close the border earlier this year, but negotiators cautioned that the limit is far from finalized and could end. Change. Mr. to close the border. White House officials have focused on a push to empower Biden.
On Sunday, border agents said more than 3,500 migrants crossed the border without permission, according to a person familiar with the data. Sunday’s numbers were in line with recent trends in southern border crossings.
The restrictions do not apply to minors crossing the border alone, an official briefed on the order said.
The executive action would reflect a move on a failed bipartisan bill from earlier this year that contained the most significant border security restrictions Congress has considered in years. The bill would have provided billions in funding for the border, including hiring thousands of asylum officers to process claims.
But Republicans defeated the bill in February, saying it was not strong enough. Many of them, Mr. Spurred on by Trump, they were loathe to give Mr. Biden a legislative victory in an election year. While Republicans are more focused on using it as a political issue, Mr. Biden’s aides believe so.
“Even if congressional Republicans choose to stand in the way of additional border enforcement, President Biden will not stop fighting to give Border and Immigration officials the resources they need to secure our border,” White House spokesman Angelo Fernandez Hernandez said in a statement. on Monday. He did not confirm the plans, but said the administration is “exploring continued policy options and we are committed to taking action to fix our broken immigration system.”
Administration officials have said executive action is not their choice — and they believe any order will face a legal challenge.
“What is needed is legislation,” said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas said last month.
“The administrative action will be challenged,” he added. “I am confident of that. And then the question is what will be the result of those proceedings. The law is to provide a more concrete solution.
In a sign of how much politics has changed on this issue, Mr. Biden, during a debate with Mr. Revealed Trump’s policies.
“This is the first president in the history of the United States to require anyone seeking asylum to do so in another country,” Mr. Biden said then. “This has never happened before.”
“You come to America and state your case,” he added. “You are seeking asylum on the following basis, why I am eligible under US law.”
