The president of USA, Joe Bidenplans to announce on Tuesday the temporary closure of the border with Mexico to migrants when the number of irregular entries into the country is excessive, a drastic measure on a key issue to achieve re-election in the November presidential elections.
The 81-year-old Democratic leader is going to sign a decree that contemplates allowing authorities to suspend the entry of asylum seekers and migrants when there are more than 2,500 cases in a single day, US media reported.
According to this text, the United States may deport migrants who enter the country without the required documentation. The American media reported that currently the number of daily irregular entries is higher than that established in the decree.
The official text provides for the reopening of the border when the number of asylum seekers is less than 1,500 per day.
Sources close to the US government told AFP that it plans to make an announcement this Tuesday, during a ceremony with mayors of cities in the southern border region, but the White House has not confirmed the reports.
“What I can say is that we are constantly and continually looking at all options to try to really deal with the immigration system, a system that has been bruised for decades,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday.
Trump’s rhetoric
Biden is trying to change his immigration policy after opinion polls revealed that this issue will have a lot of weight in achieving re-election in his revenge against the magnate and former Republican president Donald Trump (2017-2021).
Trump’s campaign team rejected this initiative in a statement, considering that it was not designed “for border security”and repeated the message of the Republican who constantly insists that irregular immigrants are responsible for the increase in violent crimes in the United States, an accusation without any basis in official data.
The magnate spent his term announcing his intention to build a wall on the border with Mexico and intensified his anti-immigration rhetoric to return to the White House.
But Jean-Pierre blamed Republicans in Congress for not cooperating with Biden and blocking billions of dollars for border policies. “They decided to opt for partisan politics”he alleged.
He looks at re-election
Biden aims to defuse Republican attacks and court undecided voters concerned about the immigration situation at the border. But his plan is sure to anger members and activists of the left wing of the Democratic Party and will almost certainly be challenged in court by civil rights groups.
More than 2.4 million migrants crossed the southern border of the United States alone in 2023. Most come from Central America and Venezuela fleeing poverty, violence and natural disasters intensified by climate change.
The figure reached a record of 10,000 people per day in December, although this number has fallen in recent months.
The Biden administration has tried to stop crossings by working in coordination with Mexico and other countries to reduce migratory flows through economic policies and the application of more restrictive laws, but polls reveal that it has not done enough for voters.
Biden spoke on Monday with Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s first female president-elect, to congratulate her on her resounding victory on Sunday and promise a “strong and collaborative partnership” on issues such as migration.
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Source: Gestion
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