The government of President Joe Biden celebrated that there is an intention to pass bipartisan immigration bill on border securitywhich would help increase surveillance and grant the president special powers to close the border.
“This bipartisan agreement would make asylum processing more fair and efficient, while ensuring protection for the most vulnerable,” defended the Biden Administration. “The agreement also includes a temporary emergency authority that will allow the president to close the border when the number [de migrantes] reach high levels and the system is overwhelmed.”
This measure has been one of the most criticized by civil organizations, which is why a senior official in the Biden Administration justified its application, if the bill is approved in the Senate and then in the House of Representatives.
“His authority will allow the president and the Secretary of Homeland Security temporarily restrict asylum with limited exceptions, when our southwest border is overwhelmed,” the official justified. “Preserves access to other protections compatible with our international obligations […]. Importantly, we will once again increase authority when the number of migrants encountered at the border reaches historically high levels, levels at which the US government strengths to process migrants quickly and efficiently.”
Last December, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency reported 301,908 encounters with immigrants, a figure that dropped to 176,197 in February and has remained at similar figures since then.
Compared to April 2023, when 235,785 encounters with migrants were reported, in 2024 the figure dropped to 179,785.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (New York) announced that the bipartisan law will be voted on in the plenary session this Thursday.
Additional immigration actions
In a conference call, officials defended the results of some immigration actions of the Biden Administration, as well as additional efforts with Mexico and other countries, as occurred a few days ago in Guatemala, as a follow-up to the Los Angeles Declaration.
“As a result, encounters between ports of entry on the border have been reduced by almost 50%,” said an official.
Another official defended these agreements in which the US reported the destination of more than $500 million dollars to help allied countries confront irregular immigration.
He added that the Biden Administration has made other administrative efforts to improve processes, including the expedited expulsion process.
“We have announced a series of administrative measures, including a new notice of proposed rulemaking that, if finalized, would allow mandatory security-related asylum bans to be applied much earlier in the process,” the official said. “We also announced last week our recent arrivals dossier in partnership with the Department of Justice, which fortunately will impose consequences, including removal, for those who do not establish a legal basis for remaining in the United States with the goal of reaching a final decision. before an immigration court within 180 days.”
Civil organizations have criticized the bill, considering that it focuses on persecuting immigrants, rather than offering them legal options to stay in the United States.
Keep reading:
• Biden promotes rule to accelerate the deportation of certain immigrants seeking asylum
• There are nearly 1.3 million asylum cases awaiting decision by immigration judges
• Chaos in immigration courts does not stop, there will be a million new cases in 2024