WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden will temporarily shut the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers whenever illegal migrant crossings surge, the White House said Tuesday, in a dramatic bid to neutralise one of his political weak spots in the reelection battle against Donald Trump.
The 81-year-old Democrat is signing a long-awaited executive order that would ban migrants who enter illegally from getting asylum when numbers top 2,500 in a day – and then make it easier to deport them back to Mexico.
“To Joe Biden, the safety of American families should always come first. That’s why today, the president is announcing new historic executive actions to bar migrants who cross our southern border unlawfully from receiving asylum,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said.
Officials said the tough new curbs should take effect straightaway as the number of people crossing the border without proper documentation is already above the threshold. Asylum seekers would again be allowed to enter once the numbers dropped to 1,500 a day.
“We do expect that the authority would be in effect immediately,” a Biden administration official told reporters.
Biden himself is due to speak at the White House at 2.00 pm local time (Jun 4).
