U.S. President Joe Biden speaks on the executive order restricting asylum in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, June 4, 2024.
Kevin Dickey | Getty Images
The Biden administration said on Monday it would further tighten asylum restrictions at the southern border as it becomes increasingly eager to show voters it is taking a tough stance on border security.
The new rules tighten restrictions announced in June that barred migrants from receiving asylum when U.S. officials deemed the southern border was overwhelmed.
Under previous rules, the U.S. could restrict asylum access when the number of migrants trying to enter the U.S. through official crossings reached 2,500 per day. The daily average number of people over a week must fall below 1,500 before restrictions can be lifted.
The version launched on Monday said the daily number of new people in the past month must fall below 1,500 before restrictions can be lifted. The government now counts all children in that number, whereas previously it only counted immigrant children from Mexico.
The changes, which take effect on Tuesday, will make it more difficult to lift restrictions and allow people to enter the country through official crossings to eventually apply for asylum in the United States.
But the restrictions imposed in June were never lifted because the number of border clashes never dropped low enough for a long enough period of time, raising the question of why the government felt it was necessary to tighten them now. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it encountered a seven-day average of about 1,800 immigration incidents per day.
A senior administration official said Monday that a longer timeline is needed to ensure that the decline in immigration continues and is not the result of a one-time event. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, briefed reporters on the tighter restrictions ahead of the announcement.
Immigration advocates have harshly criticized the restrictions announced in June, saying the government is cutting vital protections for people fleeing persecution.
The administration has trumpeted its asylum restrictions, saying they have led to a sharp drop in the number of migrants heading to the southern border. The Department of Homeland Security said Monday that the number of people Border Patrol encounters between legal crossings each day has dropped by more than 50% since announcing the changes in June.
In a statement announcing the new rules, the Department of Homeland Security called on Congress to do more to address immigration.
Border security and immigration are key vulnerabilities for the Biden administration and Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and others in his party have blasted the surge of migrants arriving at the southern border under the Biden administration, saying the White House and Harris are not doing enough to limit immigration and secure the border.
Harris visited the Arizona border region on Friday, her first trip as a Democratic candidate. She walked along the tall metal fence that separates the United States and Mexico, calling for tighter asylum rules while pushing for better ways to legally welcome immigrants.
“I refuse to accept the false choice that we must choose between securing our border and creating an orderly, safe and humane system,” Harris said. “We can and must do both.”
These restrictions do allow for some exceptions. For example, victims of serious trafficking can still apply for asylum.
The government is also allowing people to apply for asylum using the CBP One appointment system, but those people must make an appointment on the app to get to an official border crossing.
The government is trying to encourage migrants to use the app rather than crossing the border illegally.
But demand far exceeds the 1,450 appointments per day, and the government has given no indication it will increase the number of appointments.
About The Author
