On Sept. 26, the Biden administration announced plans to broaden and strengthen its existing restriction on asylum seekers at the U.S border with Mexico. The chief manager for Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign also signaled that the vice president would continue the policy if elected in 2024.
The recent moves by both Biden and Harris are a sign that Democrats are supporting tougher border policies to narrow the lead Republicans have on that issue.
Back in June, the Biden administration announced that migrants who try to cross the southern border illegally between ports of entry would be blocked from seeking asylum after illegal border crossings exceeded a threshold of 2,500 a day.
Immigrants trying to apply for asylum at legal ports of entry must download the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency’s app to schedule an appointment to propose their asylum claim.
Migrants often have to wait months for one of these appointments. The app has a considerable backlog because an insufficient number of judges are employed by the government to process asylum claims at the border.
Originally, in June, the administration said that the ban would be revoked once daily numbers of crossings averaged below 1,500 for a seven-day period. The Biden administration has updated that requirement: it will now take a 30-day average of less than 1,500 encounters in order for the ban to be revoked.
Human rights activists were outraged, including the ACLU, which is currently suing the Biden administration over the move. The organization says the Biden administration has a legal duty to recognize those seeking asylum and fleeing legitimate danger in their home countries.
The right to seek asylum is a fundamental human right recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights published by the United Nations.
Border patrol apprehensions at the border have dropped since December. However, that trend is likely because the Mexican government is cracking down on migrant transit through the country. The crackdown has also led to human rights abuses in the country.
On Oct. 3, Mexican soldiers shot at and killed six immigrants traveling by truck through the southern Chiapas region of Mexico on their way to the U.S. Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum said the act was “lamentable” and “needed to be punished.”
As the presidential race continues to develop, voters will need to decide whether they favor the Democrat or Republican approach to immigration and where they stand in relation to limiting asylum seekers.
