Biden announces possible US-Mexico border closure: What does that mean?

border between USA and Mexico as he tries to save a border deal in Congress that would also unlock money for Ukraine. The agreement had been in the works for months and seemed close to being finalized in the Senate, but it began to fall apart, mainly because donald trump — who leads the preferences to be the Republican presidential nominee — does not want it to happen.

“A bipartisan bill would be good for America and would help fix our broken immigration system and allow quick access to those who deserve to be here, and Congress needs to get it,” Biden said over the weekend. “It will also give me as president emergency authority to close the border until it is back under control. “If that bill were law today, I would close the border right now and fix it quickly.”

Here’s a look at what Biden is talking about, and the policy and regulatory considerations at play:

Where does Biden’s tough speech come from?

Biden wants continued funding for Ukraine in the face of Russian invasion. Republican senators had initially said they would not consider sending more money to kyiv unless it was combined with an agreement to manage the border.

As negotiations progress, Biden has supported efforts to reach a bipartisan border agreement after years of stagnation on immigration reform. But his statement that he would close the border “right now” Whether Congress approves the proposed deal has more to do with politics than a regulatory issue.

He is trying to debunk criticism of his handling of migration at the border at a time when this issue is increasingly worrying Americans ahead of the presidential elections.

Would the border really be closed under the agreement?

No. Trade would continue, and people who have US citizenship and legal residents would continue to come and go.

Biden is referring to a removal authority that lawmakers are negotiating that would automatically take effect on days when illegal crossings exceed 5,000 on a five-day average across the southern border, which currently sees up to 10,000 crossings daily. The authority suspends reviews for a possible granting of asylum for those who cross illegally. Immigrants could continue to apply at ports of entry until the number of crossings fell below 3,750 a day. But these are estimates; The final count has not yet been finalized.

There is also an initiative to change the way asylum cases are processed. Currently, a case takes several years to resolve and, in the meantime, many migrants are released into the country to wait. Republicans believe that this is a reason that motivates more migrants to come to the United States.

The goal would be to reduce the time it takes to reach a resolution to six months. The requirements for immigrants to apply for asylum in the first place would also be raised. Currently, the standard is broad so that potential asylum seekers are not excluded, but critics say the system is abused.

Didn’t Trump also threaten to close the border?

Yes. Trump committed to “close” completely closed the southern border of the United States — including trade and transit — in an attempt to force Mexico to take more steps to reduce the influx of migrants. However, she did not comply. But Democrats harshly criticized the speech, calling it draconian and xenophobic. The closest Trump came to closing the border was during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he used his emergency authorities to severely limit asylum. But trade and traffic continued.

Biden’s recent similarities to the former president, who had long alleged that Trump’s border policies were inhumane, reflect growing public concern about illegal immigration. But Biden’s stance threatens to alienate progressives, who already believe he has moved too far to the right when it comes to border policies.

Does Biden already have the authority to close the border?

House Speaker Mike Johnson — a Trump ally and critic of the proposed deal — has argued that leaders already have enough authority to stop illegal border crossings. Biden could, in theory, sharply limit asylum claims and restrict crossings, but those initiatives would almost certainly be challenged in court, and are much more likely to be blocked or drastically reduced if there is no congressional law to support them. the new changes.

“Congress needs to act,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. “They must act. “President Johnson and Republican representatives should provide the government with the necessary policy changes and funding.”

What is the outlook for the proposed deal?

The chances of it being approved are slim. A key group of senators negotiating the deal had hoped to release detailed text this week, but conservatives already say the measures do not go far enough to limit immigration.

Johnson sent a letter to colleagues on Friday aligning him with hardline Conservatives determined to scuttle the deal. The speaker of the lower house said that, if the leaked reports were true, the bill would have been “dead on arrival in the House of Representatives.”

One of the Senate’s chief negotiators, Republican James Lankford, told the program “Fox News Sunday” that, after months of pressing border security and clamoring for an agreement linked to aid to Ukraine“when we’re finally getting to the end,” Republicans seem to be saying, “’Oh, I was just joking, I don’t really want a change to the law because we’re in a presidential election year.’”

Trump is reluctant to give Biden a victory on an issue that fueled the Republican’s successful 2016 campaign and that he wants to use as he tries to return to the White House.

The former president said on Saturday: “I will fight (the agreement) until the end. Many of the senators try to say, respectfully, that they blame me. I say: that’s good. Please blame me. Please”.

What has happened to Biden’s efforts at the border?

Biden’s support for the legislative framework highlights how the administration’s attempts to enact broader immigration reform have been stymied.

On his first day in office, Biden sent a comprehensive immigration proposal to Congress and enacted more executive orders than Trump. Since then he has issued more than 500 executive actions, according to a tally by the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute.

His administration’s approach has been to link new humanitarian routes for migrants with border crackdowns in an attempt to discourage migrants from making the dangerous journey on foot to the US-Mexico border, and instead travel on a plane with a sponsor. Some policies have been successful, but the number of crossings has continued to increase. He has also tried to make the immigration problem a more regional issue, leveraging his foreign policy experience to negotiate agreements with other nations.

Biden’s advisors and allies consider that the asylum changes are part of the campaign of repressive measures and that is why they have been receptive to the proposals. But they have resisted efforts to strip the president of his ability to grant “humanitarian parole,” that is, allowing immigrants into the United States in special cases during global emergencies or conflicts.