The President of the United States, Joe Biden, announced this Tuesday (4) new executive actions to limit access to asylum for immigrants who cross the border between the United States and Mexico illegally.
According to a presidential proclamation from the White House, these measures will come into force at midnight this Wednesday (5).
The new executive action is expected to limit the number of asylum applications to 2,500 people per day. As soon as the number of illegal entries at the border exceeds this value, the border will be temporarily closed.
It will only reopen when the daily number of migrants seeking asylum drops to 1,500.
So, unless people fall under certain exemptions, they will be sent back to Mexico or sent to their home country.
The White House statement highlights that the measures “will facilitate the removal by immigration agents of those who have no legal basis to remain and reduce the burden on our Border Patrol agents.”
These actions will take effect when high levels of encounters at the Southern Border exceed our ability to generate timely consequences, as is the case today.
Republicans “left no choice”
According to Biden, Republicans “left no choice” after blocking a bipartisan bill on the issue, which passed the Senate for the second time at the end of last month.
“I'm overcoming Republican obstruction, and typically executive officials make me available as president to do what I can on my own to deal with the border,” Biden explained.
He criticized lawmakers for failing to move forward on a bipartisan border agreement, saying he would prefer to handle the issue with an agreement between the Democratic and Republican parties.
“I came here today to do what the Republicans in Congress refused to do,” he highlighted.
“I will never demonize immigrants,” says Biden
Joe Biden also cited the importance of immigration in the United States, pointing to the country's roots and attacking Donald Trump.
“Immigration has always been the lifeblood of America,” he said.
“I will never demonize immigrants. I will never refer to immigrants as poisoning the blood of a country. Furthermore, I have never separated children from their families at the border,” commented Biden, citing statements by Donald Trump and actions that the former president said he would take if he is elected.
The Democrat emphasized the importance of providing people a path to U.S. citizenship, but stressed that to “protect America as a land that welcomes immigrants, you must first secure the border and secure it now.”
Criticism from both sides
Election polls have shown that immigration is a key issue in the election and a weakness for Biden, with many voters and politicians blaming the Democrat for record levels of migrants at the border.
The executive action also faced criticism from members of the U.S. Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Some members of the convention argued that the president should also expand legal paths to American citizenship.
Additionally, Republicans criticized Biden for not acting sooner to address the migration crisis.
In an attempt to appease the critics, Biden stated, “In the coming weeks, I will talk about how we can make our immigration system fairer and fairer.”
Source: CNN Brasil
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