It seems like President Joe Biden is considering some drastic executive actions to quell the ongoing border crisis.
As first reported by CNN, the Biden administration is considering the use of the Immigration and Nationality Act, a move utilized multiple times during the Trump administration. Specifically, the Biden administration is looking to possibly bar certain migrants from seeking asylum in the United States between ports of entry.
This could manifest as a trigger law, meaning it would only activate upon a certain number of illegal crossings. That is eerily similar to a provision in the bill that was recently shut down in Congress.
Dubbed a bipartisan border bill, this legislation would have provided a trigger law to close border entry following a select number of crossings either daily or weekly. Biden had touted the Senate-originated bill as a means to grant him the authority to “shut down” the border when needed.
But many Republicans in both chambers argued that Biden has that authority already and doesn’t need Congressional approval. That bill ended up tanking, and it appears that this president may soon confirm the Republican argument.
As of now, the plans are unfinalized and being explored by different departments. But if you ask those already at the border, a decision needs to happen sooner rather than later.
Officers currently in charge of patrolling and safeguarding the border have been languishing under increased illegal activity and dwindling federal support.
Texas is taking the brunt of illegal crossing activity as many travel through Central America to get into the U.S. through one of its many ports of entry. As of now, 53 Texas counties have declared an invasion at the southern border and 60 have issued disaster declarations.
But these counties have expressed support for Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security mission. That mission, known as Operation Lone Star, has been successfully taking border security measures into its own hands rather than waiting for federal assistance.
For example, some officers involved in that mission have recently focused their efforts on seeking to catch human smugglers, one of the horrible consequences of the border crisis. According to The Center Square, human smuggling events are attributed to over 500,000 of the apprehensions made since Operation Lone Star began in March of 2021.
While efforts are purely focused on the Southern border, the Biden administration may also want to look North.
Recent data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows that in 2023, authorities marked a 240% increase in apprehensions at the U.S.-Canada border. About 70% of those apprehensions occurred in a sector stretching along New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire.