The US border with Mexico could close temporarily. US President Joe Biden is planning stricter rules for migrants. They should also be deported more quickly.
According to media reports, US President Joe Biden is planning to tighten rules for migrants at the border with Mexico. Biden wants to sign an executive order that would allow authorities to deport migrants who have entered the country illegally without their asylum applications being processed first, several US media reported on Monday. This would reportedly apply if the number of migrants crossing the border increases sharply. A White House official did not want to confirm the reports.
The Democrat's plan also stipulates that the border should be closed if the number of illegal border crossings exceeds 2,500 per day. The border can be opened if the number falls below 1,500.
Biden plans to present his plans this Tuesday and sign a corresponding decree, it said. Since there are already more than 2,500 illegal border crossings per day, the decree could mean that the border will be closed immediately.
CNN wrote that the text of the decree could still change before it is presented on Tuesday – and that this also applies to the numbers. According to the plans, migrants can still request appointments to apply for asylum. Unaccompanied minors are also excluded from the regulation.
The tightened rules would be among the toughest ever adopted by a Democrat and would build on the law that former President Donald Trump's administration used to prevent immigration from some Muslim countries.
Irregular immigration is one of the central issues in the US presidential election campaign. Under Biden's presidency, the number of migrants entering the country irregularly across the border with Mexico has reached record levels – former President Trump and his Republicans are blaming Biden directly for this.
Last month, an attempt to significantly tighten immigration laws failed in the US Congress. It was the second time this year that the plan was stopped by the Senate – even though the reforms had been jointly developed by Democrats and Republicans.
Biden and his Democrats accuse Trump and the Republicans of blocking the plans for stricter immigration laws because they want to exploit the porosity of the border for political gain. As in his previous election campaigns, Trump is relying on aggressive rhetoric against immigrants, whom he generally defames as a security threat to the USA.
Last year, more than 2.4 million migrants crossed the southern U.S. border, most of them from Central America and Venezuela, fleeing violence, poverty and disasters exacerbated by climate change.
