U.S. President Joe Biden will temporarily close the U.S.-Mexico border to asylum seekers whenever the number of illegal migrant crossings exceeds a certain threshold, the White House said on Tuesday, 4th, aiming to address a hot-button issue in the November election.
Officials said the restrictions are expected to take effect immediately, as they will be put in place when illegal migrant crossings exceed 2,500 a day — and the numbers are already above that figure.
The restrictions would be in place until two weeks after the number of daily encounters is at or below 1,500 a day between ports of entry, on an average of seven days.
Biden has contemplated unilateral action for months, especially after the collapse of a bipartisan deal on border security in Congress that most Republican lawmakers rejected at the urging of Donald Trump, the virtual Republican presidential nominee.
TYT Newsroom