President Biden’s move to partially suspend asylum processing at the southern border has had a significant impact on the number of migrants released into the U.S. interior or screened for humanitarian protection. According to official government statistics, the implementation of this policy has led to a dramatic decrease in unauthorized border crossings and a shift in how migrants are processed at the U.S.-Mexico border.
In early June, citing the record levels of illegal border crossings in recent years, President Biden invoked a sweeping executive authority to disqualify most migrants from U.S. asylum. This executive order made it easier for immigration officials to deport those entering the country illegally. As a result, a months-long downward trend in unauthorized border crossings accelerated after the order took effect. In July, the number of migrants illegally crossing the southern border between official entry points plummeted to 56,400, the lowest level in nearly 4 years.
The decrease in unauthorized border crossings can also be attributed to rising summer temperatures and a crackdown by Mexican officials on migrants trekking north. Newly-released government figures show that President Biden’s asylum crackdown, the most restrictive by a Democratic president, has brought about a seismic shift in how migrants are processed at the U.S.-Mexico border.
One significant change resulting from President Biden’s asylum policy has been a steep decline in the number of migrants being released by Border Patrol. This practice, seen as a “pull factor” for migration, allowed those released to stay in the U.S. for years, regardless of the validity of their asylum claims, due to the backlog of millions of cases in immigration courts. In July, Border Patrol released 12,000 migrants with notices to appear in immigration court, a significant decrease from previous months.
The decrease in releases has coincided with an increase in the percentage of migrants placed in “expedited removal” proceedings. These proceedings allow officials to quickly deport recent border crossers who do not claim asylum or fail asylum interviews. Prior to President Biden’s restrictive asylum policy, only a quarter or less of all migrants apprehended by Border Patrol were placed in expedited removal proceedings due to resource constraints. In July, nearly 50% of the migrants apprehended were processed for expedited removal, up from previous months.
Since the implementation of President Biden’s partial ban on asylum claims, over 100,000 migrants have been deported or returned to Mexico or their home countries, according to Department of Homeland Security data. This highlights the significant impact of the policy on the processing and handling of migrants at the southern border.
Access to asylum has been sharply limited under the new policy, affecting the way migrants are screened and processed at the border. The changes implemented by President Biden have resulted in a more stringent approach to immigration enforcement and have led to a decrease in unauthorized border crossings. The administration’s efforts to address the influx of migrants at the southern border have had a visible impact on the number of individuals released into the U.S. interior and the overall processing of asylum claims.
