Joe Biden on Tuesday gave a shift to the right to the immigration policy of the United States, announcing new drastic measures supposed to make it possible to “regain control” of the border with Mexico. Measures decried by his Republican adversaries as being “window dressing”, and contested on the left. The Democratic president, 81, signed a decree that will prevent migrants who entered the United States illegally from benefiting from the right to asylum when their number exceeds 2,500 per day, which is currently the case.
The text, which will come into force at midnight on Wednesday (04:00 GMT Thursday), also facilitates expulsions to Mexico, with a few rare exceptions. These measures “will help us regain control of our borders and restore order to the process” of seeking asylum, President Biden said during a speech, adding that they respect “the responsibilities that fall to us under international law. He once again accused his Republican opponents of blocking any migration reform, in the middle of the electoral campaign before the November election where he will be opposed to Donald Trump.
“Let’s solve the problem and stop fighting about it,” he said, arguing that he would “never demonize” migrants. Asylum seekers would be allowed to enter again once their numbers drop to 1,500 per day, according to the White House. This is one of the most restrictive immigration policies ever adopted by a Democratic president, while all polls show that the subject weighs heavily on Joe Biden’s chances of re-election in November. His Republican opponent Donald Trump brushed aside these announcements, repeating that the American president has, according to him, “completely abandoned (the) southern border”.
“Joe Biden claims to finally do something about the border – but in fact it’s just a facade because he knows there will be a debate in three weeks,” he wrote on his Truth network Social, in reference to the televised duel which will oppose them on June 27. Donald Trump insists that illegal migrants are at the origin of a wave of crime in the United States. However, neither the police statistics available in large cities nor the studies demonstrate the reality of such a phenomenon.
Risky strategy
For his part, the Republican President of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, denounced “window dressing”. Democrats and Republicans are fighting over immigration and have failed to agree on a bill negotiated for months in Congress, and ultimately rejected by the conservatives. The White House sought Tuesday to defuse criticism that Joe Biden was copying Donald Trump, using the same devices as his predecessor.
“All of these policies stand in stark contrast to the way the previous administration handled immigration,” said a senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “They demonized immigrants, instituted massive raids, separated families at the border and put children in cages.” Despite everything, Joe Biden is adopting a risky strategy with this toughening, taking the risk of arousing the anger of the left wing of his party. The decree is based on a law previously used by the Trump administration to ban nationals of several Muslim countries from entering the United States.
“This measure adopts the same approach as the Trump administration’s asylum ban. We will challenge this decree in court,” warned the powerful ACLU, a rights defense association. The right to asylum is a “fundamental human right,” said a UN spokesperson, Florencia Soto Nino.
As the presidential election approaches, Republicans are seeking to make immigration the central subject of the debate, accusing Joe Biden of being responsible for an “invasion”. Donald Trump, who during his mandate built sections of wall on the Mexican border, uses increasingly incendiary rhetoric towards migrants, accusing them of “poisoning the blood” of the country. In the 12 months leading up to October 2023, 2.4 million people were intercepted at the border with Mexico, a record. In December, some 10,000 people, driven by poverty and violence in Latin America, were crossing the border illegally every day. This number has since dropped, but the subject remains hot.