Biden expected to block migrants from asylum at U.S.-Mexico border

Biden to sign new border measure restricting asylum access, triggering legal challenges from immigrant groups.

U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to sign a sweeping new border measure on Tuesday that would allow authorities to quickly deport or send back to Mexico migrants caught crossing the southwest border if illegal entries surpass a certain level, according to two sources with knowledge of the move.

The measure, which would restrict access to asylum, would take effect when U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions surpass 2,500 per day, the two sources said. The illegal crossings would have to dip below 1,500 per day for the asylum restrictions to be lifted, one of the sources said.

The restrictions are not expected to apply to unaccompanied minors. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The election-year move is expected to trigger legal challenges from immigrant and civil rights groups who have criticised Mr. Biden, a Democrat, for adopting hardline policies that mirror those of his Republican predecessor, former President Donald Trump.

Mr. Biden has toughened his approach to border security as immigration has emerged as a top issue for voting-age Americans in the run-up to November 5 elections where he will face Mr. Trump in a rematch of the 2020 contest.

Mr. Biden took office in 2021 vowing to reverse some of Mr. Trump’s restrictive policies but grappled with record levels of migrants caught crossing illegally. Mr. Trump has criticised Mr. Biden for rolling back his policies and vowed a wide-ranging crackdown if re-elected.

In advance of the announcement, Mr. Trump’s campaign issued a statement calling Mr. Biden’s executive order “amnesty, not border security” and again blaming immigrants for what he called a U.S. crime wave.