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Biden is seeking to ban illegal immigrants from applying for asylum, but he has also offered “amnesty” to others. What’s behind these actions?
From The Wall Street Journal. President Biden is expected to sign an executive order Tuesday that would ban migrants who cross the border illegally from claiming asylum, allowing them to be quickly deported back to Mexico or their home countries, according to officials familiar with the planning.
Who is praying on the wall?
The order, which Biden plans to sign alongside several mayors from southern-border communities, aims to restrict the flow of migrants over the border as illegal immigration becomes a priority issue for voters ahead of the November elections. Polls show a majority of Americans in polls expressing dissatisfaction with his handling of the issue.
The decision comes after months of debate inside the administration in large part on the legality of such an order. Former President Donald Trump sought to enact a nearly identical ban in 2018 but was blocked by a federal court that said it was a violation of asylum laws, which allow people to ask for humanitarian protection no matter how they enter the country. Legal experts say that, unless Biden’s order is constructed with meaningful differences, it would almost certainly also be found illegal. …
A White House spokesman declined to comment on plans for an executive order but said in a statement that Biden was looking for options to get around Republicans blocking bipartisan legislation to address the border. …
The ban would be unlikely to go into immediate effect given that illegal crossings have recently plummeted to some of the lowest under Biden’s presidency, in part thanks to stepped-up arrests of migrants passing through Mexico. In May, for example, just about 3,500 migrants crossed the border into the U.S. a day, according to people familiar with the matter. Official data for May haven’t been released. …
In any case, the U.S. will continue to allow asylum applicants to make appointments at border ports of entry using a mobile app known as CBP One. The government currently accepts about 1,400 migrants through that program a day. …
From New York Post. While the Biden administration is attempting to look like it’s getting tough on the border, behind the scenes it’s operating a program of a “mass amnesty” for migrants, The Post can reveal.
Data shows that since 2022, more than 350,000 asylum cases filed by migrants have been closed by the US government if the applicants don’t have a criminal record or are otherwise not deemed a threat to the country.
This means that while the migrants are not granted or denied asylum — their cases are “terminated without a decision on the merits of their asylum claim” — they are removed from the legal system and no longer required to check in with authorities.
The move allows them to legally, indefinitely roam about the US without fear of deportation, effectively letting them slip through the cracks. …
ICE officers add that they have seen an increase in cases of such migrants committing crimes after their asylum cases have been dismissed, forcing agents to restart removal proceedings — which typically take years.
“Please let everyone know what’s really going on,” an ICE officer told The Post. …
In 2022, under Biden, a memo issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s principal legal adviser, Kerry Doyle, and seen by The Post instructed prosecutors at the agency to allow cases to be dismissed for migrants who aren’t deemed national security threats.
That year, 36,000 were ordered removed, 32,000 were awarded asylum, and 102,550 had their cases dismissed or otherwise taken off the books – 10 times the number in 2014.
In 2023, there were 149,000 cases in this latter category, and so far in financial year 2024 — which ends Sept. 30 — the data is certain to surpass that, with 114,000 cases closed already. …
The current backlog of asylum cases stands at 3.5 million, and shaving more than 100,000 people a year off it makes the administration look better, sources told The Post. …
The migrants are under no obligation to leave the US, and once cases are dismissed, the person is no longer monitored by ICE and required to regularly check in with them, unlike those still pursuing asylum claims. …
Once a migrant’s case is terminated, the person can re-apply for asylum or seek other forms of legal status in the US. …
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(Excerpts from The Wall Street Journal and New York Post. Photo Credit: Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)