Biden's Move to Seal Border Could Take Effect Quickly

President Biden on Tuesday issued an executive order that would impose significant restrictions on migrants seeking asylum at the US border, per the AP. The move had been laid out on Monday, but new details have emerged:

• Threshold: The executive order bars migrants from being granted asylum when US officials deem that the southern border is overwhelmed. The order will go into effect when the number of border encounters between ports of entry hits 2,500 per day, according to senior administration officials. That means Biden's order should go into effect immediately, because that figure is higher than the daily averages now.
• Two weeks: The restrictions would be in effect until two weeks after the daily encounter numbers are at or below 1,500 per day between ports of entry, under a seven-day average.

• Effect on migrants: Once this order is in effect, migrants who arrive at the border but do not express fear of returning to their home countries will be subject to immediate removal from the US, within a matter of days or even hours. Those migrants would face punishments that could include a five-year bar from reentering the US, as well as potential criminal prosecution. An asylum officer will screen those who do express fear of being deported, but at a higher standard than is currently used. If the migrants pass the screening, they can pursue more limited forms of humanitarian protection, including the UN Convention Against Torture.
• Problems: Senior officials acknowledged that the administration's goal of deporting migrants quickly is complicated by insufficient funding from Congress to do so. The administration also faces certain legal constraints when it comes to detaining migrant families, although the administration said it would continue to abide by those obligations.
• Legal challenges: The legal authority being invoked by Biden comes under Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows a president to limit entries for certain migrants if it's deemed "detrimental" to the national interest. Senior officials expressed confidence that they would be able to implement Biden's order, despite threats from prominent legal groups to sue the administration over the directive. The ACLU already is promising to do so, per the New York Times.
• Like Trump? Former President Trump leaned on the same provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that Biden is using, including his 2017 directive to bar citizens of Muslim-majority nations and his efforts in 2018 to clamp down on asylum. However, senior administration officials insisted Biden's proposal differs dramatically. For instance, Biden's order outlines several groups of migrants who would be exempted due to humanitarian reasons, including victims of human trafficking, unaccompanied minors, and those with severe medical emergencies.
• Exempt: The directive would also exempt migrants who arrive in what senior officials called an orderly fashion, which includes people who make appointments with border officials at ports of entry using the US Customs and Border Protection's CBP One app. About 1,450 appointments are made a day using the app, which launched last year.

(More immigration stories.)