SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- The situation at the San Diego border could change after President Biden's latest move to cap the number of asylum seekers entering the United States.
On Tuesday, the president announced an executive order that would drastically cut the number of asylum seekers at the U.S. southern border. Under the order, U.S. immigration officials are being allowed to deport migrants without processing asylum claims once a specific threshold has been reached.
The policy takes effect at midnight.
Once in place, the new restrictions cannot be lifted until 14 calendar days after the Homeland Security secretary determines there have been seven consecutive days below 1,500 average encounters. In effect, this means the border will be closed for a minimum of three weeks per closure, officials said.
Direct impact on those helping migrants at the border
Biden’s action is disappointing for some who've served as boots on the ground, helping migrants arriving in the U.S.
Lilian Serrano, director of the Southern Border Communities Coalition, said it's ignoring what she calls undeniable -- that asylum is a human right.
"It's really disappointing that the United States, one of the biggest countries in the world, this is the way we treat people; people that are coming to our communities seeking safety," Serrano said Tuesday, as she looked on at migrants in San Ysidro who later asked her for food.
A group of about 25 migrants, some as young as 5 years old, arrived dark and early Tuesday morning in San Ysidro.
Serrano said she watched as the group waited to be picked up by border patrol agents four to five hours later.
Since Title 42 expired last May, more than a quarter of a million migrants have crossed into San Diego County. That number jumps to more than 1.9 million across the entire Southwest border.
With the new executive order in place, the number of migrants who can claim asylum at camps like the one in San Ysidro are capped at 2,500 per day.
Migrants would be sent back to their home countries to wait until traffic dies down.
"We've been here for a year now, and we've seen announcement after announcement from the Biden administration that has not stopped migrants from coming. As long as migrants are coming here and border patrol agents continue to not take care of them, we will be here," said Serrano.
Serrano believes the announced order will lead to migrants taking more dangerous routes into the United States.
"All of us who are at the border -- whether it's in San Diego, Arizona, New Mexico, or Texas -- know that the best solution to what we are seeing in our communities is to open up the ports of entry, allow people to come in through the ports of entry, which is the safest route for migrants and the authorities alike," she said.
The ACLU says it plans to challenge Biden's action in court.
Reaction to the order
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria: “In the face of Congressional Republicans’ continued inaction on legislation to help improve the situation at our southwest border, President Biden is acting decisively. The current system is failing both local communities and asylum seekers; the fact remains we need comprehensive immigration reform.”
County Supervisor Jim Desmond: "For years, the President has told the American public that there is nothing he can do to secure our nation's border. Yet today, he will announce an executive order that still allows thousands of illegal immigrants into the country. This comes a day after we got news of an illegal immigrant from Venezuela who shot two NYPD police officers, having entered through Eagle Pass, Texas, last year.
The President will be handpicking mayors for his announcement from border communities that have seen a significant decrease in crossings, blatantly ignoring the larger crisis.
If the President truly cared about securing the border, he would come to San Diego and see the more than 150,000 people who have been released on our streets or the 52,000 Special Interest Aliens who have crossed into San Diego.
This administration's disregard for our safety and security is appalling. The reality here in San Diego is dire, and the President's empty gestures do nothing to address the ongoing crisis. We need urgent, comprehensive action, not more political theater.”
Republican Rep. Darrell Issa (CA-48): "The entire country knows that on day one of his presidency, Joe Biden threw open the nation’s borders, ended policies that were working to restrict illegal crossings, prevented the Border Patrol from doing its job and instead repurposed them as Uber drivers, and turned America into a sanctuary nation. It’s understandable Biden wants to change public perception of the truth – he just doesn’t want to change his destructive policies.
Biden’s allies call today’s proposal a 'crackdown.' Left out of that spin is the fact that this new order only goes into effect after illegal border crossings reach 2,500 per day – almost one million per year. Some crackdown.
The fact is it is too late for Biden. He purposefully broke our immigration system, made a mockery of our laws, penalized those who played by the rules, and let more than 10 million illegals into the country to stay. All of this, the skyrocketing victims of human trafficking, and the deadliest drug crisis in America’s history is Joe Biden’s fault – and Biden’s alone."
Democratic Rep. Juan Vargas (CA-52): “Migrants have the legal right to seek asylum in the United States. We should be working toward fixing our broken immigration system and providing relief for refugees and asylum seekers, while protecting immigrants who call this country home. I’ll keep fighting for comprehensive immigration reform that addresses the root causes of migration, helps restore faith in our legal immigration system, and creates a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, Temporary Protected Status holders, and farmworkers.”
Democratic state Sen. Alex Padilla: "By reviving Trump's asylum ban, President Biden has undermined American values and abandoned our nation's obligations to provide people fleeing persecution, violence, and authoritarianism with an opportunity to seek refuge in the U.S.
This asylum ban will fail to address the challenges at our border, just as it did under the Trump administration. It will lead to people with legitimate asylum claims being prevented from seeking safety and returned to harm.
What we need instead are smart and strategic investments to reduce backlogs and wait times, address the root causes of migration, and open lawful pathways to migration.
I urge President Biden to live up to his pledge to restore our nation’s ‘moral standing in the world and our historic role as a haven for refugees and asylum seekers.’ And I encourage the President to use his executive authority to provide relief to American families including Dreamers, caregivers, and undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens who deserve better than to continue to live in the shadows.”
Democratic Rep. Sara Jacobs (CA-51): “The U.S. has an obligation under U.S. and international law to welcome refugees and asylum seekers. But unfortunately, this Executive Order neglects that moral and legal responsibility and won’t serve as a deterrent to people who are fleeing for their lives. Instead of excessive enforcement based on arbitrary metrics, we should focus on relieving the strain on our asylum system and expanding the legal pathways for people to come, stay, and work in the United States.”
Democratic Rep. Mike Levin (CA-49): “I applaud President Biden for issuing a set of executive actions to strengthen border security while also ensuring we keep families together and crack down on those profiting from human smuggling. But make no mistake, executive actions are no substitute for Congressional action. Congress must work together to advance a bipartisan border security and immigration bill.
Many of the changes in the President’s announcement mirror provisions that were included in the bipartisan Senate border security bill negotiated earlier this year. Today’s announcement incorporates executive actions to reduce the strain of asylum claims on our border officials and court system, and to dismantle human smuggling operations. Disappointingly, the Senate bill was derailed by former President Trump, who has convinced Republicans that they should oppose the legislation purely to score political points during an election year.
Nobody should be playing politics with border security. It is a national security issue that deserves the collective attention of all Members of Congress on a nonpartisan basis.
My most recent visit to our Southern border reinforced what we already know: our immigration system faces very real challenges that demand Democrats and Republicans work together in good faith to deliver solutions.
We also need legal pathways to citizenship for immigrants who have been living and contributing to our country for a long time. We need work permits for our Dreamers, more immigration judges, and more Border Patrol agents. The only way to achieve these initiatives is through bipartisan comprehensive reform legislation.
I’m optimistic President Biden’s new executive actions will make a meaningful difference in some of the challenges we face at the border and in California’s 49th Congressional district. However, there is much more to do, and the House must consider strong legislation such as the Dignity Act – the most comprehensive immigration reform bill in recent memory.
Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle should dedicate themselves to immigration reform and delivering results for all Americans. I am committed to getting this done.”
