President Biden‘s allies are demanding he abandon the idea of taking executive action to toughen the rules for illegal immigrants claiming asylum, with one influential Democratic lawmaker calling it “unbelievable” that the administration would seek to revive get-tough Trump policies that Mr. Biden campaigned against.
Rep. Nanette Barragan, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, also chided the White House for not consulting with her group, which sees immigration policy as a key part of its sphere of influence.
“CHC opposes unilateral attempts by the White House to change our asylum system and put human lives at risk,” the California Democrat said. “Enforcement-only policies do not work. And using immigrant communities as a political pawn is wrong.”
The White House is reportedly considering ways to tighten asylum standards so it would be tougher for migrants with iffy claims to use them to earn catch-and-release at the border. The administration is also reportedly pondering new deportation priorities that would speed some of the newcomers to decisions and removal.
The goal is to change the incentives that are drawing people to jump the border under the often correct assumption that they’ll be quickly released and have years of living in the U.S. before they’ll have to reckon with an immigration judge and possible deportation.
Even considering those moves is taboo to immigrant rights advocates.
Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president of Global Refuge, called the ideas “deeply misguided.”
“Such restrictions would flout longstanding humanitarian law, and in so doing, cause great harm to persecuted individuals and families desperate to exercise their legal right to seek protection,” she said.
The White House is desperate for some action on the border, which has become a severe political liability in the election year amid record-shattering chaos.
Administration officials were part of negotiations that produced a bipartisan deal earlier this month to expand presidential powers to control the border, albeit with major carve-outs that Republicans said gave Mr. Biden too many loopholes to prolong the mess.
That bill was defeated in a filibuster, led mostly by Republicans who saw the bill as too weak but joined with a handful of Democrats who viewed the measure as too rigid toward illegal immigrants.
The White House has blamed Republicans for the defeat, but has sent mixed signals on whether Mr. Biden can — and will — take action on his own.
Using those executive powers would mean retreating on past claims that Mr. Biden‘s hands were tied. But not using them could mean an even worse border situation just as voters head to the polls this fall.
“No executive action, no matter how aggressive, can deliver the significant policy reforms and additional resources Congress can provide and that Republicans rejected. We continue to call on Speaker [Mike] Johnson and House Republicans to pass the bipartisan deal to secure the border,” said White House spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández.