The White House says the proposed rule is necessary to manage what officials call a temporary 'surge' in migration levels that they expect when Title 42 restrictions are lifted.įor years, immigration authorities have used that public health authority as a de facto tool for managing the border. illegally, after passing through Mexico or any other country without seeking protection there first. This week, the administration unveiled its biggest stick yet: A temporary rule that would make it much harder for migrants to get asylum if they cross the border into the U.S. 'One of our clear goals was how do you offer access to asylum in an orderly way.' 'In the beginning, it felt like we were all rowing in the same direction,' says Flores, who served as the director of border management on Biden's National Security Council. When Biden took office, he quickly signed a flurry of executive orders rolling back some of former President Trump's harshest immigration policies. Biden had pledged to restore asylum protections for the most vulnerable, while also trying to deter migrants from making the dangerous journey through Mexico and crossing the border illegally. 'It's far more punitive than I anticipated would come from this administration, and this immigration team.'įlores and other former administration officials say a vigorous debate has been playing out since the days of the presidential transition. 'My main reaction is disappointment,' says Andrea Flores, a former member of Biden's National Security Council. It's the latest move in a larger crackdown aimed at discouraging mirgants from crossing the border illegally - one the White House says is working.īut immigrant advocates say it's a betrayal of President Biden's promises to rebuild the asylum system at the border. The Biden administration unveiled sharp new restrictions on who can seek asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border this week. Migrant families from Venezuela return to Mexico after being expelled from the United States to Ciudad Juárez in January.

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