Photo: Susan Walsh Associated Press The immigration policy that Joe Biden will decree is one of the most restrictive ever adopted by a Democratic president.
Danny Kemp – Agence France-Presse and Léon Bruneau – Agence France-Presse in Washington
Posted at 11:11 a.m. Updated at 9:29 p.m.
- United States
The United States will temporarily close its border with Mexico to illegal migrants seeking asylum starting Wednesday, after President Joe Biden announced a major tightening of his immigration policy immigration, five months before the presidential election.
The 81-year-old Democratic president, who is up for re-election in November against Republican Donald Trump, signed a decree in this sense Tuesday which prevents migrants who entered the American territory illegally from benefiting from the right of asylum when their number exceeds 2,500 per day over a period of seven consecutive days, which is currently the case.
The text also facilitates expulsions to Mexico, with a few rare exceptions.
The American president assured that these new measures will make it possible to “regain control” of the border with Mexico, where a record number of people are flocking, particularly fleeing poverty in Central or Latin America.
These measures will also help “restore order to the process” of request for asylum, he said in remarks at the White House, adding that they respected “our responsibilities under international law.”
He once again accused his Republican adversaries of blocking any migration reform. “Let’s solve the problem,” he said, arguing that he would never “demonize” migrants.
Asylum seekers would be allowed in again as soon as their numbers drop to 1,500 per day, according to the White House.
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“Facade”
These announcements come two days after the election in Mexico of Claudia Sheinbaum, the first woman at the head of the country, greeted by Washington.
The American president welcomed this again in a call Tuesday with his Mexican counterpart Andrés Manuel López Obrador, highlighting cooperation with this country including in the area of migration.
In Ciudad Juarez, on the Mexican side of the border, would-be immigrants met by AFP reacted to Joe Biden's announcements.
“Let them give us a chance,” pleaded Miguel Angel Ramos, a Honduran migrant.
Erickson Quintero, a Venezuelan migrant, expressed the difficulties encountered along the way.
“This journey is not easy, because the cartels, the immigration authorities, the police, the army, they really treat us “bad”.
All the polls show that the subject of immigration weighs heavily on Joe Biden's chances of re-election in November.
His Republican opponent Donald Trump has brushed aside these announcements.
“This is just a facade because he knows there is a debate in three weeks,” he wrote on his Truth Social network, referring to the televised duel that will oppose them on June 27.
Donald Trump hammers home that illegal immigrants are at the origin of a crime wave in the United States. However, neither the police statistics available in large cities nor the studies demonstrate the reality of such a phenomenon.
Risky strategy
For his part, the Republican President of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, denounced “smoke and mirrors”.
Democrats and Republicans are at loggerheads over immigration and have not managed to agree on a bill negotiated for months in Congress, and finally rejected by conservatives.
Joe Biden's executive order is based on a law previously used by the Trump administration to ban nationals of several Muslim countries from entering the United States.
The House -Blanche sought Tuesday to defuse criticism that the Democratic president is copying his predecessor by using the same devices.
“All of these policies stand in stark contrast to the way the previous administration handled immigration,” said a senior official on condition of anonymity. “They demonized immigrants, instituted mass raids, separated families at the border, and put children in cages. »
Despite everything, Joe Biden takes the risk of arousing the anger of the left wing of his party with this toughening.
“We will challenge this decree in court,” immediately warned the powerful ACLU, a rights defense association.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for its part said it was “very concerned”, estimating that “many people in need of international protection […] will find themselves without viable options”.
As the presidential election approaches, immigration has become a central issue in the election campaign, with Republicans accusing Joe Biden of being responsible for an “invasion” at the border.
Donald Trump, who during his mandate built sections of wall on the Mexican border, uses increasingly incendiary rhetoric towards migrants, accusing them of “poisoning the blood” of the country.
In the 12 months leading up to October 2023, a record 2.4 million people were intercepted at the border with Mexico.
A sign of the electoral importance given to this subject, elected officials in Arizona decided on Tuesday to organize a referendum around a controversial bill on immigration, and on which the voters of this southwestern state of the United States will have to decide during the November elections.