Amid election where immigration is key focus, Biden hardens asylum limits at the border

The Biden administration on Monday toughened asylum limits for undocumented immigrants by making it harder for the federal government to lift them.

In June, President Joe Biden issued an executive order that generally barred people who cross the U.S.-Mexico border and southern coastal states from requesting refugee protections until authorities registered a seven-day consecutive average of less than 1,500 encounters with undocumented migrants for a week. That policy has been in place since.

But on Monday, the federal government announced that authorities now would have to register a week-long average of 1,500 encounters or less for 28 days straight to lift it. That means the ineligibility on seeking asylum for undocumented immigrants crossing unlawfully will likely be around for longer and the parameters to lift it will be harder to meet.

The federal government has said that the policy’s purpose is to improve the operating capacities of the overloaded U.S. immigration system. On Monday, immigration officials said the change was meant to ensure that the policy responded to sustained trends and not short-term changes. Customs and Border Patrol’s seven-day-average has fallen to under 1,800 encounters a day since the June policy was put in place, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

The policy also comes as immigration continues to be a cornerstone of the presidential election. While Biden is no longer running against former President Donald Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris has had to respond for her role in the current administration’s record on border safety and immigration. She has taken a harder line on immigration policy in speeches and ads and visited the border over the weekend.

There are exceptions to the asylum limits, including for lawful permanent residents, unaccompanied children, victims of severe trafficking, and people with visas, appointments on the Customs and Border Protection app CBPOne, or other legal permissions to enter. People facing a medical emergency or a threat to their life or safety will also be exempt. If the policy is lifted, the government can reactivate it if it hits an average of 2,500 encounters for a straight week.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Monday that “the 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.”

To curb irregular immigration, the Biden administration has rolled out a series of policies to increase legal paths to the U.S., such as a parole program that allows Nicaraguans, Haitians, Venezuelans and Cubans to come for two years as long as they pass background and health checks. It has also resumed family reunifications for Cuba and Haiti and expanded those programs to Colombia, El Salvador and Honduras.

But it has also taken steps to reduce the flow of undocumented immigrants showing up at the border, such as entering an agreement with Mexico so the neighboring country takes back up to 30,000 deportees from Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti and Nicaragua every month.

Mayorkas emphasized that the Biden administration has made these decisions because of a lack of congressional action, an assertion he has repeatedly made before. He said the immigration system is broken and that Congress must give his department and other immigration-related agencies more resources, personnel, and tools.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a press release Monday that the original interim rule had significantly reduced the average of daily encounters and sped up deportations. It also said it would follow its commitments and obligations to asylum under international law.

But experts and advocates have said that the U.S. is effectively banning asylum under the measure and violating both federal and international law. They also fear that people with legitimate claims to asylum will not be able to receive protections to which they are entitled.

Amy Fischer, the Director of Refugee and Migrant Rights at Amnesty International USA, said the U.S. is presenting a “false choice to people fleeing for their lives” by forcing them to remain in Mexico in dangerous situations waiting for an appointment at the border or cross unlawfully and face a higher likelihood of deportation.

“The Biden administration is clinging to policies of cruelty when there are solutions on the table that can both solve the issues at the border and provide meaningful relief for cities like Springfield, New York, Chicago, and Denver without human suffering and with respect for human rights and dignity,” Fischer said. “The Biden administration must immediately end the asylum ban and the border shutdown, and restore access to asylum at the border.”

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