Joe Biden announced Tuesday that he would temporarily close the United States border with Mexico with each rebound in arrivals of illegal migrants, a move to the right in an attempt to seduce part of the electorate in the middle of the campaign to maintain in the White House against Donald Trump.
The Democratic president, 81, will sign a long-announced decree that would prevent illegally entered migrants from accessing the asylum system when their number exceeds 2,500 per day. The text will also facilitate expulsions to Mexico, according to the White House.
“For Joe Biden, the safety of American families must always come first. “That’s why the President is announcing historic new steps today to prevent migrants who illegally cross our southern border from receiving asylum” in the United States, said White House spokesman Andrew Bates.
The head of state himself must speak at 2 p.m., the White House announced.
Immediate effect
U.S. officials say the number of people crossing the border without papers is already above the threshold and the new restrictions should take effect immediately.
“We expect the measure to take effect immediately,” once the executive order is signed, said a US official on condition of anonymity.
Asylum seekers would be allowed to enter again as soon as their number fell to 1,500 per day, according to the same sources.
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 [la] southern border.
“Joe Biden claims he’s finally doing something about the border — but it’s really 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 American cities nor the studies show 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 Mr. Biden was copying Mr. Trump, using the same devices as his predecessor.
“All of these policies stand in stark contrast to how the previous administration handled immigration,” said a second senior official. “They demonized immigrants, instituted mass raids, separated families at the border and put children in cages. »
Despite everything, Joe Biden is adopting a risky strategy with this toughening.
He could indeed arouse 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.
In any event, the measures should be challenged in court.
As the November 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.
By 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.
