Biden orders block on asylum seekers at Mexico border

AFP | Washington, United States

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

President Joe Biden will temporarily shut the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers whenever illegal migrant crossings surge, the White House said Tuesday, in a dramatic bid to neutralize one of his political weak spots in the reelection battle against Donald Trump.

The 81-year-old Democrat is signing a long-awaited executive order that would ban migrants who enter illegally from getting asylum when numbers top 2,500 in a day -- and then make it easier to deport them back to Mexico.

"To Joe Biden, the safety of American families should always come first. That's why today, the president is announcing new historic executive actions to bar migrants who cross our southern border unlawfully from receiving asylum," White House spokesman Andrew Bates said.

Officials said the tough new curbs should take effect straightaway as the numbers of people crossing the border without proper documentation are already above the threshold.

Asylum seekers would again be allowed to enter once the numbers dropped to 1,500 a day. "We do expect that the authority would be in effect immediately," a Biden administration official told reporters.

Biden himself was due to speak at the White House at 2:00 pm (1800 GMT). The move would be one of the toughest ever by a Democratic president and see Biden moving closer to Republican Trump's own signature border policies, amid polls showing the issue heavily dragging on Biden's reelection chances in November.

Trump's campaign earlier dismissed the expected executive order as being "for amnesty, not border security."

The statement repeated Trump's frequent claims that illegal migrants are responsible for surges in violent crime -- an allegation not supported by any major police or academic data. Migrants entering the United States are normally allowed to claim asylum if they face harm or persecution on the grounds of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.

But many spend years waiting for their claims to be processed, with critics saying that many people cross purely for economic reasons and then game the system to remain in the United States.