[ad_1]
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is considering new executive actions to crack down on record numbers of migrants at the southern border after Congressional Republicans blocked border legislation with White House support this month.
A Biden administration official who spoke to USA TODAY on condition of anonymity stressed that no final decisions have been made about what additional executive actions will be taken.
The Biden administration is considering a provision in federal immigration law routinely used by former President Donald Trump, which could spark a backlash from progressives and immigration advocates, according to the Associated Press. .
According to the Associated Press, Biden is considering possible action under Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, which allows the president to deny entry to anyone deemed “detrimental to the interests of the United States.” It is said that there is
Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, cited the same provision when he banned individuals from Muslim-majority countries from entering the country. Biden took action to overturn Trump’s ban on his first day in office.
Preparing to vote: See who’s running for president and compare their positions on important issues with our voter guide
The New York Times reports that Biden’s executive order would limit the ability of migrants to seek asylum in the United States if they cross the border illegally, a goal similar to the bipartisan border closures by Congressional Republicans. It was reported that there is.
Immigration issue is key to Biden’s re-election
The bill, which failed in the Senate, would give the Department of Homeland Security the authority to close the border to illegal immigrants if the number of migrants crossing in a week exceeds an average of 4,000 people a day. It was something.
And if border encounters exceed an average of 5,000 migrants per day (currently meeting the standard), DHS may close the border to migrants attempting to cross the border without prior authorization between ports of entry. I would have been asked for it.
Since the border bill’s passage, Biden has grilled Republicans over inaction on the border, a move to turn immigration — an issue Democrats typically defend — into a win in his re-election campaign.
White House Press Secretary Angelo Fernández Hernández said in a statement that “no executive action, no matter how aggressive, will provide significant policy reforms that Congress can provide or additional resources that Republicans have rejected.” “We will continue to appeal to the chairman.” Johnson and House Republicans will pass a bipartisan agreement to secure the border. ”
Encounters with Border Patrol increase
U.S. Border Patrol agents had more than 250,000 encounters with migrants entering the U.S. from Mexico in December, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics.
That’s the highest monthly total ever and easily surpassed the previous peak of about 224,000 in May 2022, according to a Pew Research Center analysis.
But the number of people illegally entering the U.S. from Mexico fell by 50% in January, according to CBP.
The issue has divided Congress and has emerged as a key issue for voters in the 2024 presidential election.
A recent Pew poll found that eight in 10 American adults say the government is doing very or somewhat poorly in dealing with the large number of migrants seeking to enter the United States at the Mexican border.And about the same number say the situation is either a “crisis” (45%) or a “major problem” (32%) for the United States.
Pew said there are also partisan differences in Americans’ views on why immigrants come to the border.
Nearly 76% of Republicans say a big factor is that they believe U.S. immigration policies make it easier to stay in the country once they arrive. About half (39%) of Democrats say the same.
Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are 30 points more likely than Republicans and Republican-leaning people to cite violence in their home country as the main reason (79% vs. 49%).
Contact Joey Garrison at X (formerly Twitter, @joeygarrison).
Contributed by: Associated Press
[ad_2]
Source link
