Biden closes the border: What does the executive order that limits asylum to immigrants say?

This is the most drastic measure adopted by the Government of Biden on the southern border of USA. Analysts consider that it is an attempt by the president to gain prominence on immigration matters, a few weeks before the first presidential debate on June 27 against his rival. Donald Trump.

LOOK: Drugs and a gun: What is Hunter Biden accused of and what sentence could he receive in the historic trial against him?

“I came here today to do what the republicans in Congress refuse to do, take the necessary steps to ensure our border (…) let’s fix the problem and stop fighting about it,” he said. Biden in the White House.

“This action will help gain control of our border and restore order in the process,” the president continued.

“We are going to continue working with our Mexican neighbors, instead of attacking them, and we will build a strong relationship,” said the president.

Biden has used the same authority to which he appealed trump when he was in power to regulate immigration across the border. This is section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Law of 1965 that grants the president the authority to prohibit the entry of certain migrants by decree if it is considered that their entry would be “detrimental” to the national interest.

As a candidate, Biden criticized the Trump administration for being “inhumane” at the borderhe recalled cnn. However, a government official defended the measures on Tuesday and said they were distinct and separate from those of trumpwhile acknowledging that they are prepared for the legal challenges that are coming, “from both sides of the political spectrum.”

The AP agency specified that the president has been weighing for months the possibility of acting on his own, after a bipartisan initiative in Congress to restrict the asylum on the border failed because Republicans backed out of the deal at Trump’s request.

More than 2.4 million migrants

They crossed the southern border of the United States in 2023. Most of them come from Central America and Venezuela.

These are the keys to Biden’s order:

What the order says

Under the executive order, The border with Mexico will be closed to migrants seeking asylum after crossing outside ports of entry if the average daily arrivals in the last seven days exceed 2,500. It will reopen when they drop to 1,500 on the seven-day average.

The measure has immediate effect, since the weekly average of daily crossings currently exceeds the figure of 2,500, Administration officials explained. Biden to American journalists.

Currently, irregular crossings on the southern border are around 4,000 per day on a weekly average, according to data from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cited by Telemundo.

The minimum threshold of 1,500 applications for the border to reopen could be difficult to reach, as The last time this figure was recorded was in July 2020, in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic.Telemundo noted.

What will happen to migrants once the limit is exceeded?

According to officials who spoke to reporters, those who arrive at the border once the 2,500 threshold is exceeded will be held to “a significantly higher standard” to qualify for asylum.

Thus, the migrants They must demonstrate that there is a “reasonable possibility” that they are at risk of suffering torture or persecution if they are returned to their country of origin, explained the EFE agency.

The officials stressed that USA will adhere to the obligations of the United Nations convention against torture, which prohibits deporting someone to a country where they may be tortured.

But if migrants are unable to demonstrate that they qualify for the asylum Under this higher standard, They will be deported in a matter of “hours” or “days”according to officials.

In that case, the situation will vary depending on the nationality of the migrant or applicant for asylum. Those who are Mexicans or nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela will be returned directly to Mexico under prior US agreements with Mexican authorities.

Those who arrive at the border from other parts both inside and outside the American continent, such as Colombia or Ecuador, will be expelled on deportation flights, EFE indicated.

The exceptions

The order has exceptions: does not cover unaccompanied children, victims of a serious form of human trafficking, those who present an acute medical emergency or an imminent and extreme threat to life and safety, among others.

It will also not apply to asylum seekers who arrive with an appointment scheduled at the CBP One app (about 1,250 a day) or through other legal means.

“The government of trump “He attacked almost every facet of the immigration system, and he did so in a shameful and inhumane manner,” a White House official told reporters on Tuesday. “The action will not ban people based on their religion, it will not separate children from their mothers, there are also narrow humanitarian exceptions to the asylum ban, including for those facing an acute medical emergency or an imminent and extreme threat to life or safety. The Trump Administration’s actions did not include these exceptions,” he added.

What will happen to trade?

He commercial traffic on the border with Mexico will continue to be open and foreigners with tourist or immigration visas or with green card They will be able to continue entering through the ports of entry.

Legal challenges

In a statement, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reported that it will seek to overthrow the executive order of Biden.

“We intend to challenge this order in court. It was illegal when Trump did it, and it is no less illegal now,” said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU Immigrant Rights Project, one of the lawyers who has led several legal battles against the US Executive and managed to have it repealed. the measures of the republican government.

For his part, Stephen Yale-Loehr, a professor of immigration law at Cornell Law School and co-author of a major 22-volume series on immigration law, told Univision that the president Biden uses a section of US immigration law known as 212(f) as authority for restrictions. He remembered that Trump “also attempted to use Section 212(f) to restrict entry into the United States, but it was challenged in court.”

“Courts have said that all presidents have broad authority over immigration, because immigration affects foreign relations and sovereignty. But that power is not absolute,” Yale-Loehr warned.

The specialist anticipated that “immigrant rights advocates will immediately sue President Biden to try to prevent his executive action from taking effect. As a last resort, the Supreme Court may have to decide “When a president goes too far on immigration.”