President Biden has ended many border and immigration policies of former President Donald Trump’s administration in his first term, steps that some experts argue led to the ongoing crisis at the southern border. ing.
Lora Reese, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Control Center, told Fox News Digital: “By ending Remain in Mexico, encouraging asylum fraud, and mass paroleing illegal aliens, Biden will “We provided entry to foreign nationals who are not allowed to enter the country.” “By releasing them en masse instead of subjecting them to incarceration laws, Biden has allowed millions of people to remain in the United States longer because deporting those who are not in custody is Because I know it’s much more difficult.”
Reese’s comments come as the ongoing crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border shows no signs of abating, with the latest data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection showing an increase in the number of Border Patrol encounters with migrants. It is shown that the global economy has reached a record high again towards the end of 2023. In December, the number of visitors peaked at just over 300,000.
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A photo of President Biden and former President Donald Trump side by side. (Photo by Jim Watson Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
The continuing crisis is sure to capture the attention of voters in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election, with voters giving the president poor ratings for his handling of immigration. A new Monmouth University poll released last week found that only 26% of Americans approve of Biden’s handling of immigration issues. The numbers are even worse among political independents, with just 21% of the key group expressing support for the way the president is handling the problem.
Reese believes much of the unpopularity of Biden’s immigration policies can be traced to his decision to reverse the policies of Trump, the Republican front-runner who is poised to run against the president again in 2024. There is.
“By all accounts, Biden has secured a secure border and intentionally desecured the border,” Reese said. “His policies include unacceptable alien encounters and releases, placement on terrorist watch lists, unaccompanied alien children, migrant deaths, border search and rescue, and fentanyl imports into the United States, primarily from Mexico. It has resulted in a historic number of drug deaths.”
Like Reese, House Speaker Mike Johnson has been a vocal critic of Biden’s immigration policies, saying in a January statement that the president is “systematically working to undermine America’s border security.” said.
The announcement details 64 policies and actions of the Biden administration that Johnson claims helped worsen the border crisis, 16 of which were reversals of Trump-era policies. Some of these actions were taken on Biden’s first day in office, including lifting the national state of emergency on the southwest border (Proclamation 9844) to end emergency construction of a border wall.
Migrants caught in new video streaming trying to cross border illegally on remote mountainside in California
Mark Morgan, a visiting scholar at the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, told Fox News Digital that President Biden’s vast executive actions at the border are having negative consequences.
“The scale of what he did created chaos at the border,” Morgan said.
Migrants entering the United States from Mexico are greeted by bellows wire along the Rio Grande River in Eagle Pass, Texas, on September 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
But Morgan also pointed to specific Trump-era policies that Biden has changed, such as ending the Asylum Cooperation Agreement, known as the ACA.
Morgan argued that the ACA “reflects international standards” that encourage individuals applying for asylum to seek protection in the first safe country they can reach.
“Instead of working with cartels and risking your life, safety, and finances to shop on forums and try to get to the United States, we encourage everyone to seek redress in their first safe country,” Morgan said. We should.”
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Morgan argued that repealing the policy would actually encourage economically motivated immigrants to seek asylum in the United States, placing a huge burden on U.S. border security.
“These people were deterred from risking their lives and financial well-being because they knew they would not be released in the United States,” Morgan said.
The second administration policy decision Morgan pointed to was Biden’s decision to end the Migrant Protection Protocols, better known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy.
Morgan argued that the goal of many migrants who come to the border and apply for asylum is to be released into the United States, which did not happen under the Remain in Mexico policy. Instead, asylum seekers were forced to wait on the other side of the border until their claims were processed, removing some of the incentive for migrants to exploit the asylum process and try to enter the United States.
“The Remain in Mexico program did not deny asylum to anyone,” Morgan said. “They just said you’ll wait in Mexico while you’re in exile. We’re not going to release you to the United States and never hear from you again.”
Migrants attempting to enter San Luis, Arizona from Mexico are detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the border. (Nick Ut/Getty Images)
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Mr. Rees shared similar sentiments, arguing that reinstating both of these policies would go a long way in alleviating the current crisis.
“Preventing asylum fraud involves requiring foreign nationals to apply for protection in the first safe country they enter and return to that first safe country, rather than in a rural store to come to the United States. “Includes,” Reese said. “This includes fully implementing Remain in Mexico (and Canada), as well as returning to the traditional U.S. refugee application process in which foreign nationals apply for refugee protection overseas, and allowing reviewers to review applicants’ documents and backgrounds more closely. This includes taking more time to get up close and do a thorough investigation,” the veterinarian applicant said. ”
Rather, Reese argued that the Biden administration’s policies had serious consequences.
“America has open borders and a loss of sovereignty. We face serious national security threats, especially from the 1.8 million known fugitives who have evaded border security during this administration.” Reese said. “Americans have lost precious lives and public safety to transnational cartels, gangs, criminals, and drugs.”
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
