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, five months from now. the presidential election.
The 81-year-old Democratic president, who is up for re-election in November against Republican Donald Trump, signed a decree to this effect on Tuesday which prevents migrants who entered the United States illegally from benefiting from the right to 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 seeking asylum, he said during a speech at the White House, adding that they respected “the responsibilities incumbent upon us under of international law”.
He once again accused his Republican opponents 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.
” Facade “
These announcements come two days after the election in Mexico of Claudia Sheinbaum, the first woman to head the country, hailed by Washington.
The American president once again welcomed this in a call on 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, prospective 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, describes the difficulties encountered along the way.
“This journey is not easy, because the cartels, the immigration authorities, the police, the army, they treat us really badly.”
All polls show that the subject of immigration weighs heavily on Joe Biden’s chances of re-election in November.
His Republican opponent Donald Trump brushed aside these announcements.
“It’s just a facade, because he knows that a debate will take place in three weeks,” he wrote on his network Truth Social, in reference to the televised duel which will pit them against each other on June 27.
Donald Trump insists that illegal migrants are at the origin of a wave of crime 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 “window dressing”.
Democrats and Republicans are fighting over immigration and have failed to agree on a bill negotiated for months in Congress, and ultimately rejected by conservatives.
Joe Biden’s decree is based on a law previously used by the Trump administration to ban nationals of several Muslim countries from entering the United States.
The White House sought Tuesday to defuse criticism that the Democratic president was copying his predecessor by using the same devices.
“All of these policies contrast sharply with 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 subject of the electoral 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, 2.4 million people were intercepted at the border with Mexico, a record.
A sign of the electoral importance given to this subject, the elected officials of 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.