Biden is expected to sign an executive order restricting asylum

President Biden is expected to sign an executive order on Tuesday that will allow him to temporarily seal the U.S. border with Mexico to migrants when border crossings increase, a move that would suspend long-term protections for asylum seekers in the United States .

Biden's senior aides have briefed members of Congress in recent days on the impending action and told them to expect the president to sign the order along with South Texas mayors, according to several people familiar with the plans.

“I have been made aware of the pending executive order,” said Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat who previously criticized Biden for failing to strengthen border enforcement early in his presidency. “I certainly support it because I have supported these measures for years. While the order has yet to be released, I stand by the details provided to me thus far.”

The order would represent the most restrictive border policy instituted by Biden, or any modern Democrat, and echoes President Donald J. Trump's 2018 attempt to block immigration that was assailed by Democrats and blocked by federal courts.

While the executive action is almost certain to face legal challenges, Biden is under intense political pressure to address illegal migration, a top voter concern ahead of this year's presidential election.

The decision shows how immigration policy has tilted sharply to the right over the course of Biden's presidency. Polls suggest growing support, even within the president's own party, for the border measures that Democrats once denounced and Trump supported.

The order would allow border officials to block migrants from seeking asylum and quickly turn them away once border crossings exceed a certain threshold. Government officials earlier this year discussed allowing Biden to close the border if there were an average of 5,000 border crossings in a week, or 8,500 in a single day, but those involved in the negotiations warned that the threshold has not been finalized and could exchange. White House officials have focused on a trigger that would give Biden the power to close the border.

Border agents arrested more than 3,500 migrants crossing the border without authorization on Sunday, according to a person familiar with the data. Sunday's numbers were in line with recent trends in crossings at the southern border.

The restrictions likely will not apply to minors crossing the border alone, according to an official briefed on the order.

The executive action will likely mirror a provision contained in a failed bipartisan bill from earlier this year that included some of the most significant border security restrictions contemplated by Congress in recent years. The bill would have provided billions in funding for the border, including hiring thousands of asylum officials to process claims.

But Republicans fought the bill in February, saying it wasn't strong enough. Many of them, egged on by Trump, were reluctant to give Biden a legislative victory in an election year. Biden aides believe the executive order may give Democrats another reference point to cite when arguing to voters that they sought solutions at the border while Republicans were more focused on using it as a political issue.

“While congressional Republicans have chosen to thwart further border enforcement, President Biden will not stop fighting to provide the resources border and immigration enforcement personnel need to secure our border,” Angelo said in a statement Fernández Hernández, White House spokesperson. on Monday. He did not confirm the plans, but said the administration is exploring “a range of policy options and we remain committed to taking action to address our broken immigration system.”

Administration officials said executive action was not their preference and that they believed any order would face a legal challenge.

“Legislation is what is needed,” Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, said last month.

“Executive action will be questioned,” he added, “I'm confident in that. And then the question will be: what will be the outcome of these proceedings? Legislation is a more certain solution.”

Demonstrating how much politics on the issue has changed, Biden, as a candidate in 2019, harshly criticized Trump's policies during a debate.

“This is the first president in the history of the United States of America where anyone seeking asylum must do so in another country,” Biden said at the time. “It's never happened before.”

“Come to the United States and present your case,” he added. “This is how I apply for asylum, based on the following premise, because I deserve it under American law.”