A Proclamation on Securing the Border

{{See also|Remain in Mexico}}

In November 2018, then-president Donald Trump issued a presidential proclamation suspending asylum rights for illegal immigrants. According to the Trump administration, the policy was intended to halt Central American migrant caravans.{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/09/us/politics/trump-asylum-seekers-executive-order.html |title=Trump Suspends Some Asylum Rights, Calling Illegal Immigration 'a Crisis' |date=November 9, 2018 |last1=Shear |first1=Michael |last2=Sullivan |first2=Eileen |author-link1=Michael D. Shear |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 3, 2024}} District judge Jon S. Tigar temporarily blocked the proclamation.{{Cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/11/20/blow-trumps-immigration-agenda-federal-judge-blocks-asylum-ban-migrants-who-enter-illegally-mexico/ |title=In blow to Trump's immigration agenda, federal judge blocks asylum ban for migrants who enter illegally from Mexico |date=November 20, 2018 |last1=Sacchetti |first1=Maria |last2=Stanley-Becker |first2=Isaac |work=The Washington Post |access-date=June 3, 2024}}

{{Main|Mexico–United States border crisis}}

According to the Associated Press, the proclamation closes asylum requests once the average number of daily encounters reaches 2,500, reopening once that number has decreased to 1,500.{{Cite web |url=https://apnews.com/article/biden-immigration-executive-order-asylum-border-7cd0b0f28e298036ad1fc6b0c78961e1 |title=Biden prepares an order that would shut down asylum if a daily average of 2,500 migrants arrive |date=June 4, 2024 |last1=Min Kim |first1=Seung |last2=Groves |first2=Stephen |last3=Long |first3=Colleen |publisher=Associated Press |access-date=June 4, 2024}} Due to the threshold being met at the time of the signing, the executive order's shutdown went into effect immediately after the order was signed. The order proclaimed that anyone who crossed the border illegally or without explicit authorization would be ineligible for asylum, and that migrants who don't have a credible reason for requesting asylum will be "immediately removable", which Biden administration officials anticipated that "we will be removing those individuals in a matter of days, if not hours".{{Cite web |date=2024-06-04 |title=Biden signs executive order dramatically tightening border |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-signs-executive-order-shutting-southern-border-rcna155426 |access-date=2024-06-04 |website=NBC News |language=en}}

Representative Pramila Jayapal expressed disappointment to White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, and noted how the executive order seemed to continue the harsh enforcement approach to the crisis that Donald Trump pushed for.{{Cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/04/democrats-frustrated-with-biden-border-order/ |title=Democrats frustrated with Biden border order |date=June 4, 2024 |last1=Caldwell |first1=Leigh Ann |last2=Meyer |first2=Theodoric |work=The Washington Post |access-date=June 4, 2024}}{{Cite web |last=Knox |first=Brady |date=2024-06-04 |title=Biden frustrates party with immigration plan - Washington Examiner |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/immigration/3027136/biden-frustrates-party-immigration-plan-woo-skeptical-voters/ |access-date=2024-06-04 |language=en-US}}

House Homeland Security Committee Democrat Bennie Thompson expressed concern over the impact of the executive order on endangered and unprotected people coming to the United States for safety, and urged representatives to work on and pass lasting solutions to strengthen border security while still protecting the vulnerable.

Senator Alex Padilla of California lamented that the policies undermined American values as "an attempt to return to the same policies that were proven to fail in the Trump administration" and that there was no attempt to provide safety and support to "dreamers, farmworkers or any other documented residents in the United States". He hoped that Biden would change his mind before the election in anticipation that Hispanic and progressive voters would turn away from voting for him.{{Cite web |last=Sklar |first=Debbie L. |date=2024-06-04 |title=Local, State Leaders Respond to Imminent Asylum Stoppage from White House |url=http://timesofsandiego.com/politics/2024/06/04/local-state-leaders-respond-to-imminent-asylum-stoppage-from-white-house/ |access-date=2024-06-04 |website=Times of San Diego |language=en-US}}

Democratic Conference Chairman and Congressional Hispanic Caucus member Pete Aguilar was concerned that instead of secure the border while creating new legal pathways for immigration, that the executive order was only enforcing the former part of the strategy. He wished for Biden to continue to uphold programs for Temporary Protected Status, DACA, and aiding families with undocumented individuals in them.{{Cite web |last=Hammond |first=Elise |last2=Shen |first2=Michelle |date=2024-06-04 |title=Live updates: Biden to announce executive actions on immigration |url=https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/biden-executive-order-immigration-06-04-24/index.html |access-date=2024-06-04 |website=CNN |language=en}}

Several Republicans dismissed the order as a political stunt in reaction to electorate polls showing immigration to be one of the Biden administration's greatest issues prior to the 2024 election.{{Cite web |last=Samuels |first=Brett |last2=Bernal |first2=Rafael |date=2024-06-04 |title=Joe Biden’s new border policy on asylum draws fire on all sides |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4703294-biden-southern-border-immigration-asylum-executive-action/ |access-date=2024-06-05 |website=The Hill |language=en-US}}

Republican Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell said the order was "like turning a garden hose on a five-alarm fire" and that it was "too little, too late".{{cite web | last=McDuffie | first=Will | last2=Abdul-Hakim | first2=Gabriella | last3=Farrow | first3=Fritz | title=Praise, but some trepidation, among Democrats after Biden's border actions | website=ABC News | date=2024-06-04 | url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/praise-trepidation-democrats-after-bidens-border-actions/story?id=110824065 | access-date=2024-09-01}} Senator Ted Cruz questioned why Biden had waited until 2024 to sign the order.{{cite web | last=Bennett | first=John T. | last2=Lesniewski | first2=Niels | title=Biden immigration order looks to counter GOP criticism | website=Roll Call | date=2024-06-04 | url=https://rollcall.com/2024/06/04/biden-immigration-order-looks-to-counter-gop-criticism/ | access-date=2024-09-01}}

Amnesty International USA released a public statement calling the executive order a "dangerous international precedent as a first-of-its-kind numerical cap on asylum". Director of Refugee and Migrant Rights for the organization Amy Fischer claimed the policy to be illegal under international and refugee law, rooted in xenophobia and white supremacist concepts, and would cause more cruelty, torture, violence, and death without fixing the root causes of forced migration or creating policies to keep communities housing migrants safe.{{Cite web |title=Amnesty International USA’s Reaction to Biden Administration’s Executive Order on Asylum |url=https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/amnesty-international-usas-reaction-to-biden-administrations-executive-order-on-asylum/ |access-date=2024-06-04 |website=Amnesty International USA |language=en-US}}

The American Civil Liberties Union planned to sue the White House over the executive action, with representative Lee Gelernt stating that the asylum ban was just as illegal as when Donald Trump's proclamation for the same actions was blocked, and would put "tens of thousands of lives at risk".{{Cite web |last=Samuels |first=Brett |date=2024-06-04 |title=ACLU to challenge Biden’s border action: ‘Same approach’ as Trump asylum ban |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4702854-aclu-challenge-biden-executive-order-border-immigration-trump-asylum-ban/ |access-date=2024-06-04 |website=The Hill |language=en-US}}

Several American organizations including the Legal Aid Society, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, Global Refuge,{{Cite web |date=2024-06-04 |title=Biden rolls out asylum restrictions, months in the making, to help 'gain control' of the border |url=https://apnews.com/article/biden-asylum-migration-immigration-mexico-border-dec5f83b468b5795479bf1f5e49799d5 |access-date=2024-06-05 |website=AP News |language=en}} Make the Road New York,{{Cite web |title=Advocate discusses Biden’s restrictions on migrants seeking asylum |url=https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/inside-city-hall/2024/06/04/advocate-discusses-biden-s-restrictions-on-migrants-seeking-asylum |access-date=2024-06-05 |website=ny1.com |language=en}} the Florida Immigrant Coalition,{{Cite web |last= |date=2024-06-05 |title=Advocates concerned Biden's immigration executive order could cause troubles in Florida |url=https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/advocates-concerned-bidens-immigration-executive-order-could-cause-troubles-in-florida/3328727/ |access-date=2024-06-05 |website=NBC6 South Florida |language=en-US}} and the Immigrant Defenders Law Center strongly condemned the executive order. Different statements from advocacy organizations included complaints calling the order a reckless, short-sighted policy, that it ignored past failures in harsh deterrence policies, that it is akin to Trump-era policies, and that it is primarily an act of political manipulation in an election year rather than a humane or rational decision.{{Cite web |last=Mordowanec |first=Nick |date=2024-06-04 |title=Joe Biden's new border order already hit with legal threat |url=https://www.newsweek.com/biden-immigration-asylum-executive-order-aclu-1908156 |access-date=2024-06-04 |website=Newsweek |language=en}}

• Immigration and Nationality Act Section 212(f)
• List of executive actions by Joe Biden

{{Joe Biden}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{citation|url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/06/07/2024-12647/securing-the-border|id=89 FR 48487|title=Proclamation 10773, Securing the Border |date=June 3, 2024|work=Federal Register}}

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Category:2024 in American politics

Category:Biden administration controversies

Category:Executive orders of Joe Biden

Category:United States proclamations