President Joe Biden announced new executive actions Tuesday aimed at addressing surges of migrants crossing the U.S. southern border illegally by imposing new thresholds for those allowed to seek asylum.
Biden spoke from the White House about the new measure, which his administration says will achieve immigration reform that some have been unable to implement.
“I came here today to do what Republicans in Congress refuse to do: take the steps necessary to secure our border,” Biden said. He was surrounded by various officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and local border participants.
The move comes as Biden continues to face political headwinds on immigration in the 2024 campaign and just weeks before he debates his electoral rival, former President Donald Trump. The new actions represent a policy shift for Biden, who told reporters earlier this year that he had “done everything I could” unilaterally at the border.
The measures establish a rule that will turn away migrants who cross illegally between ports of entry and attempt to seek asylum after seven straight days of more than 2,500 encounters. This limit will then only be lifted if there have been 14 days of meetings with 1,500 or fewer, according to administration officials.
“If an individual chooses not to use our legal channels, if they choose to come without authorization and against the law, they will be barred from receiving asylum and remaining in the United States,” Biden said.
Migrants seeking asylum between ports of entry will begin being turned away starting at midnight, according to a White House official.
Although the new rule is sure to face rapid legal challenges, with the American Civil Liberties Union having declared its intention to sue the administration.
For months, Republicans have been calling on Biden to use executive power to make changes at the border. But they were very critical of the new actions before its announcement.
President Mike Johnson, during his weekly news conference with House Republican leaders earlier Tuesday, criticized Biden for not acting sooner and called the measure itself “weak.”
“It’s window dressing. Everybody knows that,” Johnson said. “If he had cared about the border, he would have done so a long time ago.”
Across the Capitol, Senate Republicans offered a similar response at their own news conference, specifically in response to Biden’s action.
“It’s a shell game.” They don’t take it seriously, the Texas senator said. » John Cornyn said. “This is a conversion due to the proximity of the next election and declining poll numbers. And we think it deserves to be called out for what it is.”
Meanwhile, the White House is lashing out at Republicans for rejecting a bipartisan bill that included more sweeping reforms to immigration and border security under Trump’s leadership – which reinforces his anti- immigration during this electoral cycle and makes it a centerpiece of his program.
“Twice this year alone, Congressional Republicans have blocked the strongest and fairest bipartisan border security legislation in modern history, which President Biden played a crucial role in crafting and which the border patrol union and the Chamber of Commerce approved,” said Principal Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates. . in a note Tuesday.
Democratic leaders echoed that sentiment at their weekly news conference.
“Republicans are more concerned with keeping this as a campaign issue than governing and finding solutions,” House Democratic Caucus leader Pete Aguilar told reporters. “Ultimately, House Democrats believe we can and must secure our borders while opening more legal avenues.”
But not all Democrats agree with the administration’s new actions. Some have expressed disappointment, while others fear it could backfire on Biden.
“What concerns me about this executive order is that it tries to be stricter at the border, and it’s not going to fix anything and it’s confusing the message about what we stand for,” he said. declared the representative. Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Rep. Nanette Barragán, chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, called the decision a “mistake” and said it should be coupled with “affirmative action and protections for undocumented people who have been here for a long time.”
Biden, in his remarks at the White House, addressed critics who said his policies went too far.
“For those who say the actions I’ve taken are too strict, I say be patient, and the goodwill of the American people is wearing thin right now,” Biden said. “Doing nothing is not an option. We must act.”
He also sought to highlight the differences between his approach to immigration and Trump’s. The former president and presumptive GOP nominee has pledged to deport millions of undocumented migrants, reinstate travel bans and more if elected.
“I will never demonize immigrants,” Biden said. “I will never refer to immigrants as poisoning the blood of a country. And what’s more, I will never separate children from their families at the border. I will not ban people from this country because of their religious beliefs I will not use the U.S. military to go into neighborhoods across the country to tear millions of people from their homes and families and put them in detention camps to await deportation, as my. predecessor said it.
ABC News’ Justin Gomez, Rachel Scott, Lauren Peller and John Parkinson contributed to this report.