...
By Nick Mordowanec
Staff Writer
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Former President Donald Trump's campaign attacked President Joe Biden on Tuesday morning, saying the administration's "radical" executive action toward migrant amnesty isn't aimed at improving southern border security but intended to release illegal migrants quicker than usual.
Biden is expected to sign executive action Tuesday intended to curb the number of amnesty cases amid daily surges that overwhelm federal immigration authorities. Multiple reports indicate the administration will stop asylum requests at the United States-Mexico border if the average number of daily migrant encounters exceeds 2,500 between ports of entry. The southern border would reportedly reopen only when that number falls to 1,500 or below.
"Let's be clear—Joe Biden's executive order is for amnesty, not border security," Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a campaign message Tuesday morning. "After importing more than 15 million illegal aliens into our country and releasing countless criminal migrants who have brutally raped and murdered our citizens, this new order will facilitate the release of more illegals as quickly as possible with a smartphone app.
Read More on Politics
...
"The border invasion and migrant crime will not stop until Crooked Joe Biden is deported from the White House."
Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment.
The president is considering the order under section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, used by Trump during his presidency. Critics have tied the rule to hardline immigration policy based on the former president invoking it as part of his "travel ban."
Undocumented children would be exempt from the order, which the Trump campaign claims will "give a green light to child traffickers and sex traffickers."
Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union's (ACLU's) Immigrants' Rights Project, told Newsweek in a statement that they "will need to review the executive order before making litigation decisions, but any policy that effectively shuts off asylum would raise obvious legal problems, just as we did when the Trump administration tried to end asylum."
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) said in a statement that it would oppose the Biden administration's efforts to curb broader illegal immigration "if it is done in a manner that prevents asylum seekers from receiving fair and accurate consideration of requests for asylum, a right guaranteed by U.S. law."
It is unclear whether blocking access to asylum on a temporary basis would be an effective deterrent or border management tool, the AILA said, referencing similar federal efforts that "have resulted in large numbers of people still coming and being forced to wait in Mexico in deplorable conditions vulnerable to crime and violence."
Gregory Chen, senior director of government relations for AILA, told Newsweek via email that it is urging Biden to redouble efforts for an orderly, more efficient but fair process at the border.
"While we have not yet seen the details of the new policy, we are deeply concerned that it will violate U.S. law that guarantees fair access to asylum seekers as it builds upon a past policy that is already sending people back to harm's way," Chen said. "Unfortunately, Department of Homeland Security statistics show the May 2023 policy almost certainly denies asylum seekers a fair shot at asylum.
"Before that policy went into effect, approximately 85 percent of asylum seekers were able to pass a very preliminary screening for asylum. The May 2023 policy resulted in an enormous drop, with only 13 percent of asylum seekers passing a similar preliminary screening for asylum. Such a huge decline in asylum eligibility at a stage that Congress meant only as an initial threshold can only be explained as a highly accelerated process that is denying asylum seekers a fair process."
It is also unclear whether Mexican officials have expressed support or concerns to the Biden administration regarding their intended action.
On Sunday, Claudia Sheinbaum overwhelmingly won the country's election and will take over as Mexico's president in October. She will become the first woman in North American politics to lead her country. It remains unknown if or how Sheinbaum will deviate from current Mexican immigration policy.
Biden spoke with her on Monday, congratulating her on the victory while saying he looks forward to a "partnership and friendship that reflects the enduring bonds between our two countries."
"I express our commitment to advancing the values and interests of both our nations to the benefit of our peoples," Biden said, according to a White House readout.
Jennifer Babaie, an attorney at Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center in El Paso, Texas, told the Associated Press that Title 42, when imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, did not go as far as what Biden may do, considering that the migrants could try for asylum again if rejected at the border.
Now, they could be deported and charged with felonies without being accepted for legal entry again.
"This is even more extreme than [Title 42] while still putting people in harm's way," Babaie said.
A number of Texas officials representing border communities will be at the White House on Tuesday, including Mayors John Cowen of Brownsville, Ramiro Garza of Edinburg and Oscar Leeser of El Paso.
All have confirmed their attendance to Newsweek, with Leeser saying his community is welcoming to migrants but cannot sustain "the effort and resources we've expended on this humanitarian crisis endlessly."
A mayor missing from the picture is Rolando Salinas of Eagle Pass, a Democrat who reportedly was not invited to the announcement in Washington. Eagle Pass has been an epicenter of sorts in Texas's battle with the federal government over immigration policy.
The order comes as illegal immigration remains a major issue, especially for conservatives, heading into the November election. Border encounters have risen annually in each year of the Biden administration.
Biden recently received good news on the immigration front in terms of his own reelection campaign. Last week, a Gallup poll showed that prospective voters' concerns about illegal immigration decreased—dropping 9 percentage points from April to May, from 27 percent to 18 percent. Pollsters attributed the nearly double-digit decrease to a decrease in illegal border crossings outside ports of entry.
Update 6/4/24, 11:29 a.m. ET: This story was updated with comment from Gregory Chen of AILA.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines