Contrary to popular belief, US President Joe Biden is not closing the border.
The president’s proclamation, announced Tuesday, sounds like it bars unregistered migrants from crossing the border freely, but this is not the case. Sure, Biden said his new legislation bars migrants who cross the border illegally from seeking asylum, but this is only once a daily threshold is met.
When the average number of migrants illegally crossing the border reaches 2,500 a day, migrants who try to cross between ports of entry will be blocked from seeking asylum and turned back to Mexico or returned to their countries of origin. The restrictions would be lifted after the seven-day average drops below 1,500 a day.
That is still a lot of migrants coming across the border.
And Biden is only addressing this now because he is fearful of losing the elections in November. Otherwise, how else can we explain the fact that he has consistently ignored this urgent issue for the last three years?
Even former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki admitted that Biden is only addressing the border crisis now because of political purposes.
Polling has shown immigration is a top issue for many voters ahead of November’s presidential election, and surveys have consistently showed voters trust former President Trump more than Biden on the issue.
Biden and his fellow Democrats argue he had no choice but to act because Republicans blocked bipartisan legislation in the Senate, but the policy drew swift criticism from both sides of the aisle, underscoring the bipartisan anger over the issue.
Republicans rejected the measure as “window dressing” intended to provide Biden with a talking point ahead of the elections. Former President Donald Trump called Biden’s false attempt to fix the border issue “weak” and “pathetic” and suggested it was “all about show, because he knows we have a debate coming up in three weeks.”
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) agreed, saying in a statement that Biden’s decision-making was “based on the proximity of the next election and sinking poll numbers.”
Biden made his politicking clear when he said in remarks at the White House recently, “Today I’m moving past Republican obstruction and using executive authorities available to me as president to do what I can on my own to address the border. Frankly, I would’ve preferred to address this issue through bipartisan legislation, because that’s the only way to get the kind of system we have now that’s broken fixed.”
But blaming Republicans simply deflects his own complicity in allowing millions of migrants to enter the U.S. And this is just a continuing pattern of his despicable behavior that we’ve seen over the last few years.
In January, he attacked Republicans saying, “Securing the border through these negotiations is a win for America. For everyone who is demanding tougher border control, this is the way to do it. If you’re serious about the border crisis, pass a bipartisan bill and I will sign it.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Wednesday that the rule, which will disqualify people from seeking asylum in the US if they did not first apply in countries they crossed earlier in their journeys, will now go into effect.
That coincides with the expiration of a contentious public health order known as Title 42, which since 2020 has allowed US authorities to expel most people crossing the border without offering them the opportunity to apply for protection.
“This administration has led the largest expansion of legal pathways for protection in decades, and this regulation will encourage migrants to seek access to those pathways instead of arriving unlawfully in the grip of smugglers at the southern border,” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.
Mayorkas ignores the fact that the Biden administration, which he works for, completely neglected the border and has denied doing so when questioned on the issue numerous times.
No one should be fooled by the Biden administration’s steps now on the southern border. This is all a show for the elections and yes, unregistered migrants will continue to stream across the border and spread throughout the country.
Don’t let Biden fool you. As Trump noted, this is all just window dressing.
