WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order on Tuesday that would temporarily close the southern border when daily migrant crossings between legal ports of entry exceed 2,500, and reopen when the number falls below 1,500, according to three people. discussions.
The White House has communicated the threshold to lawmakers, two of the sources said, but stressed that some details are still being finalized ahead of a presentation expected on Tuesday.
According to Department of Homeland Security officials, daily encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border now average more than 4,000, suggesting the shutdown will take effect immediately, although administration officials are bracing for legal challenges.
Details of the executive order This was exclusively reported by NBC News on May 23. According to multiple officials familiar with the negotiations, there is a critical view to cooperate with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s administration on some key provisions. Claudia Sheinbaum, whose candidacy was supported by López Obrador, was elected president in his place on Sunday.
The executive action is expected to be based on the president’s authority, known as 212(f) of the US Code, which would allow the president to unilaterally “suspend entry” of certain groups of migrants if the number of attempts to cross the border becomes excessive.
The shutdown would not impede the commerce, travel or entry of immigrants who present themselves legally for asylum at ports of entry. But it will prevent migrants from applying for asylum if they cross the border between ports of entry during the shutdown.
According to one of the sources, the administration has studied the work done during the Trump administration and sought to avoid legal pitfalls by creating exceptions for unaccompanied children and victims of human trafficking.
DHS is also expected to re-designate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti, which would allow some Haitian nationals in the United States to stay until conditions in Haiti improve, three sources said.
Since March, the country has largely been controlled by armed gangs, and many lawmakers on Capitol Hill have called on the Biden administration to extend TPS to Haitians and halt deportations.
According to a source familiar with the matter, in recent days the White House contacted the mayors of the border cities to participate in the signing of the order.
Border policy has been a hot topic for months, with Senate Democrats’ efforts to push a border security bill hitting a wall in May.
Senators in February revealed the details On a bipartisan deal that would impose tougher immigration and asylum laws and allow Biden to “close the border when the border gets tight,” the president urged lawmakers in January to pass the bill.
But a few days later, Republican senators killed the account his own party had negotiated with the Democrats.
Border security appears to be a weak spot for Biden, according to the poll. Former President Donald Trump has one A 30-point advantage with registered voters A CNBC national poll at the end of March showed a 23-point advantage among Latino voters, including a 23-point advantage among Latino voters when asked which candidate would do a better job of handling immigration and border security.
If elected, it will be Trump promised to start the biggest “household deportation”. operation” in its second term. Trump has achieved this during his administration it is more difficult for foreign-born workers to enter the United Stateswith visa refusals ascending more than 20% in both fiscal 2018 and 2019 and refugee admissions decreasing.
There were 179,725 encounters along the southern border in April, a slight decrease compared to recent months. according to US Customs and Border Protection. More than 1.5 million encounters have been recorded so far this fiscal year, meaning FY2024 has reportedly surpassed FY2023, FY2022 and FY2021 in encounters so far.
One of the sources said the administration was prepared for the tolls to rise again this summer, so the decision was made to act now.
Megan Lebowitz, Sarah Dean and Tara Prindiville contributed.