Great progress has been made in reducing the number of illegal crossings at our southern border ports of entry. concern The number of cases fell from 117,905 in May to 85,536 in June and 56,399 in July. Slightly increased In August, the number rose to 58,038.
White House Press Secretary Angelo Fernandez Hernandez attribute Biden-Harris Administration June 4th declaration Border security and the associated Interim Final Rule This means that most illegal border crossers will be barred from seeking asylum if they are arrested.
But does Hernández rightly believe that the administration's actions are responsible for the cuts? Instead, the Mexican government should get the credit, as the US worked with them to make the cuts.
How serious is this administration about preventing illegal border crossings? In the three and a half years since it took office,release More than 5.4 million migrants entered the country without visas or other valid immigration documents, including at least 99 people on terror watch lists.
Frankly, I am not impressed with the administration's announcement to suspend illegal immigration at the southern border. Discontinued Fourteen calendar days after the Secretary of Homeland Security determined that encounters with illegal border crossers averaged less than 1,500 per day for seven consecutive calendar days.
If the Secretary determines that the number of encounters with illegal border crossers averages 2,500 or more over a seven-day period, the suspended entry ban will be reinstated.
Moreover, suspensions do not necessarily apply to all illegal border crossers: the proclamation gives Border Patrol agents discretion to ignore suspensions if they determine that the “totality of the circumstances” or “operational considerations” warrant a suspension.
These conditions are so vague that it would be easy for the Border Patrol to justify ignoring the stop at any time.
At the same time, the administration issued an interim final rule stating that immigrants who cross the border illegally during the suspension will not be eligible for asylum unless they prove by a preponderance of the evidence that “exceptional and compelling circumstances exist” or fall within one of the exceptions to the suspension.
In addition, illegal border crossers arrested during the suspension period: Trusted horror interviewsIt will decide whether they should have an asylum hearing unless they actively express a fear of returning to their home country or request asylum.
What did the administration's actions accomplish?
They have instituted new asylum restrictions for illegal immigrants, but as immigration expert Aaron Reichlin Melnick points out, this Not a new development Under the May 2023 administration Circumventing legal routes The regulations deemed illegal border crossers ineligible for asylum unless they met certain exceptions.
Reichlin-Melnick said the main change is that Border Patrol agents who detain illegal immigrants no longer have to ask them if they fear persecution, which he believes makes it easier for agents to ignore migrants who want to apply for asylum.
If he's right, Customs and Border Protection needs to take corrective action, but I'm more concerned that as word spreads about this trap, illegal immigrants may circumvent it by applying for asylum as soon as they are apprehended, and then repeatedly applying for asylum until they are granted it.
Moreover, this executive order was announced on June 4. How quickly did migrants around the world learn of this announcement, and why did illegal border crossings drop so dramatically in the same month?
Mexico Efforts intensified Reducing illegal crossings at the U.S. border MeetingsI met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in December last year, but illegal border crossings continue. 100,000 yen per month It ranges from a low of 117,905 to a high of 249,741.
Federation for American Immigration Reform Media Director Ira Melman Claims The record number of illegal crossings was a political liability ahead of upcoming elections, but the administration had to convince the Mexican government that it was politically impossible to do what was needed to significantly reduce illegal crossings.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrado signalled his acceptance but called for compensation for Mexico's aid. He said “60 minutes”In a March interview, he said the root causes of the increase in illegal border crossings would be addressed if the United States agreed to “provide $20 billion a year to poor countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, lift sanctions on Venezuela, end the trade embargo on Cuba and legalize the millions of law-abiding Mexicans living in the United States.”
It is unclear to what extent the administration complied with these demands or whether additional demands were made during the negotiations, but the Mexican government help This made it more difficult for migrants to reach the US border through Mexico, leading to a sharp drop in illegal border crossings.
Washington Post correspondent Mary Beth Sheridan sayIn a massive crackdown launched under U.S. pressure, the Mexican government has been stopping migrants passing through Mexico on their way to the U.S. border at highway checkpoints and forcing them off buses and trains.
Mexican Government We can't afford to deport them. So they just send them back to the southern tip of Mexico. Once released, many of them turn around and head back to the US border. This situation is called the “merry-go-round.”
Even U.S. officials and immigration advocates admitThis is a major factor behind the rapid decline in illegal border crossings.
It therefore seems clear that most of the credit for the reduction in illegal border crossings goes to Mexico.
But my biggest concern is that illegal border crossings will return to previous levels after the election, especially if next year's election results put Kamala Harris in the White House.
Nolan RapaportHe served on the House Judiciary Committee for three years as an Executive Branch immigration law expert, and then served for four years as immigration counsel to the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims. Prior to his work on the Judiciary Committee, he wrote immigration review board decisions for 20 years..
