Also, Mexico elected its first woman president. Here’s the latest at the end of Monday.
Migrants wait to be led onto buses by Border Patrol agents in El Paso.Credit…Paul Ratje for The New York Times
President Biden is expected to sign an executive order tomorrow allowing him to temporarily seal the U.S. border with Mexico to migrants when crossings surge. The move, which is all but certain to be challenged in court, would represent the single most restrictive border policy instituted by Biden, or any other modern Democrat.
The order would allow border officials to turn away migrants who claim asylum once border crossings exceed a certain threshold — restricting what has long been the surest way for migrants to stay in the U.S. White House officials have discussed setting the cutoff at 2,500 illegal crossings per day. If that level is set, the border would immediately be closed because roughly 3,500 migrants are currently apprehended each day.
Biden pushed Congress earlier this year to enact a similar policy into law, but Republicans thwarted the bill, saying it was not strong enough. Now under intense political pressure to address illegal migration, a top concern of voters ahead of the November election, the president has decided to use his executive authority.
Biden’s move underscores how the politics of immigration have tilted to the right. Many Democrats, including Biden, condemned a similar effort by Donald Trump in 2018 to restrict long-established protections for asylum seekers. Federal courts blocked his attempt. Now the former president’s harder line on immigration appears to be resonating more broadly.
