“In June, the Biden-Harris Administration took decisive action to strengthen our nation’s border security and deter irregular migration. That decisive action – the President’s Proclamation and the Departments’ joint interim final rule that implemented it – has been delivering results: illegal crossings at our southern border have dropped by more than 55 percent. The Departments of Homeland Security and Justice have now finalized the rule, which implements the President’s updated Proclamation. This action has been taken in parallel with other Administration actions that have both increased enforcement and delivered to asylum seekers safe and lawful pathways to humanitarian relief that cut out the ruthless smuggling organizations that prey on the vulnerable.
"In the past year, total removals and returns of people crossing illegally have exceeded the number of removals and returns in any fiscal year since 2010. We have worked with other countries to disrupt and dismantle the smuggling organizations, enhance their enforcement efforts, accept the return of migrants who do not qualify for relief, make irregular migration more difficult, and much more. In parallel, this Administration has taken new and innovative steps to provide humanitarian relief to individuals in need so that they do not have to migrate irregularly at tremendous peril, in the hands of the ruthless and powerful smuggling organizations. This Administration, with its international partners, has built safe mobility offices, increased refugee processing, built new labor pathways, provided new humanitarian relief processes, and increased family reunification.
“Yet, these efforts, impactful as they have been, are no substitute for Congressional action. We cannot provide the greater and more enduring systemic changes that America’s broken immigration system desperately needs because only Congress can do that. Nor can we provide the Department of Homeland Security and the other departments responsible for administering our nation’s immigration system with the personnel, resources, and tools needed to fully meet today’s border security challenges; Congress must do that.
“Our Administration worked closely with a bipartisan group of Senators earlier this year to help craft legislation that would have delivered the toughest and fairest border security measures in decades. It would have, for example, provided funding for 1,500 new Border Patrol agents and Customs and Border Protection officers; 1,200 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel; 4,300 additional asylum officers; and more than 10,000 additional detention beds. To sustain the progress the Biden-Harris Administration has made, and to build on it, Congress must pass the bipartisan border security bill.”
As Nick Miroff for the Washington Post summarizes the changes,
"The Biden administration will expand the asylum restrictions announced in June [and here] that have made it much more difficult for migrants who cross the border illegally to request protection in the United States, Department of Homeland Security officials said [today].
Officials said they will extend from seven to 28 days the length of time that illegal crossings must remain below a daily threshold of 1,500 before people who enter the country illegally will be allowed to request asylum. The amended measures, which will take effect [tomorrow], will also begin counting unaccompanied minors in the daily number of crossings, the officials said."
Rebecca Santana for the Associated Press catches the nub of the final rule in the title to her report: "Biden administration doubles down on tough asylum restrictions at border"
UPDATE (Oct. 1): Immigrant advocates are critical of the new policies. Aljazeera reports:
“`This policy bolsters xenophobic and racist rhetoric that falsely portrays immigrants as threats. It will also leave a permanent stain on President Biden’s legacy,' said Eleanor Acer, senior director for refugee protection at Human Rights First.
Amy Fischer, director of refugee and migrant rights at Amnesty International USA, accused the administration of `clinging to policies of cruelty when there are solutions on the table.'
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also slammed the new rules as illegal."
The asylum law Congress enacted recognizes that people fleeing danger should not be forced to wait and try to secure an appointment to seek asylum.
— ACLU (@ACLU) September 30, 2024
This restrictive rule is not just immoral but illegal. https://t.co/zUP4tbnkbl
KJ