After illegal entry
Biden wants to use Trump law to crack down on migrants
04.06.2024, 11:00 a.m.
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In Congress, a law on stricter immigration rules fails due to opposition from the Republicans. Instead, US President Biden wants to issue a regulation and is using his predecessor’s example to do so.
According to media reports, US President Joe Biden is planning to tighten rules for migrants at the border with Mexico. Biden wants to sign an executive order that would allow authorities to deport migrants who have entered the country illegally without their asylum applications being processed first, several US media reported. This would reportedly apply if the number of migrants crossing the border increases sharply. A White House official did not want to confirm the reports.
The tightened rules would be among the toughest ever adopted by a Democrat and would build on the law that former President Donald Trump’s administration used to prevent immigration from some Muslim countries.
Irregular immigration is one of the central issues in the US presidential election campaign. Under Biden’s presidency, the number of migrants entering the country irregularly across the border with Mexico has reached record levels – former President Trump and his Republicans are blaming Biden directly for this.
Millions try to reach the USA
Last month, an attempt to significantly tighten immigration laws failed in the US Congress. It was the second time this year that the plan was stopped by the Senate – even though the reforms had been jointly developed by Democrats and Republicans.
Biden and his Democrats accuse Trump and the Republicans of blocking the plans for stricter immigration laws because they want to exploit the porosity of the border for political gain. As in his previous election campaigns, Trump is relying on aggressive rhetoric against immigrants, whom he generally defames as a security threat to the USA.
Last year, more than 2.4 million migrants crossed the southern U.S. border, most of them from Central America and Venezuela, fleeing violence, poverty and disasters exacerbated by climate change.