WASHINGTON — An new executive order from President Joe Biden would limit migrants’ asylum claims at the U.S.-Mexico border and allow immigration officials to swiftly deport individuals who illegally enter the United States, aides said Tuesday.
Republicans were quick to lambaste the order for not going far enough to end what members of both parties have called a “crisis” at the southern border. GOP lawmakers contended that it would still allow thousands of illegal border crossings each day. “President Biden believes we must secure our border.
That is why today, he will announce actions to bar migrants who cross our southern border unlawfully from receiving asylum,” a senior White House official said on a Tuesday morning call with reporters. “These actions will be in effect when high levels of encounters at the southern border exceed our ability to deliver timely consequences, as is the case today,” the senior official added. “They will make it easier for immigration officers to remove those without a lawful basis to remain and reduce the burden on our Border Patrol agents.
” The order would not go as far as a bipartisan border security package the White House negotiated with senators from both parties — including lead GOP negotiator Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, one of the chamber’s most conservative members. “Congress must still act,” the senior official said, blaming House Republicans for blocking the Senate package and contending that the order.
