President Joe Biden announced an executive order regarding asylum seekers at the southern border during a ceremony at the White House on Tuesday.
Of course, the actual plan was far less powerful than previewed, and Biden’s announcement was mostly rhetoric with a bit of politics mixed in.
In announcing his plan, Biden blamed Republicans in Congress and Donald Trump for inaction at the border and acted as if he had worked difficult to secure it throughout his presidency.
But Fox News’ Bill Melugin, who has spent most of the past three years covering the U.S.-Mexico border (from the border, not a newsroom) and has been embedded in the ranks of border agents, says Biden’s order contains massive loopholes and that “there is no way Biden’s order can be described as ‘closing’ the border.” Melugin wrote:
It didn’t take long for the House Homeland Security Committee to take up this issue:
All in all, this parody of Kamala Harris (by the handsome bride of our own Bob Hoge) made a lot more sense than Biden’s announcement.
THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, including sections 212(f) and 215(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a)) and section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code, do hereby declare that, without the measures set forth in this Proclamation, the admission of the persons described in section 1 of this Proclamation into the United States under the circumstances described in section 2 of this Proclamation would be detrimental to the interests of the United States and that their entry should be subject to certain restrictions, limitations, and exceptions. Therefore, I hereby declare as follows:
Section 1. Suspension and Restriction of Entry. Entry of noncitizens into the United States through the southern border is hereby suspended and restricted pursuant to section 3 of this proclamation. This suspension and restriction of entry shall become effective at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on June 5, 2024. The suspension and restriction ordered in this proclamation shall be terminated pursuant to subsection 2(a) of this proclamation pursuant to subsection 2(b) of this proclamation.
Section 2. Applicability of Suspension and Restriction of Entry. (a) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall monitor the number of daily encounters, and subject to paragraph (b) of this section, the suspension and restriction of entry pursuant to section 1 of this Proclamation shall be lifted at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on the day that is 14 calendar days after the Secretary makes a factual determination that there have been an average of fewer than 1,500 encounters for 7 consecutive calendar days, excluding encounters described in paragraph 4(a)(iii) of this Proclamation.
(b) Notwithstanding any factual determination made under subsection (a) of this section, the suspension and restriction of entry under section 1 of this Proclamation shall be in effect as of 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on the calendar day immediately following the Secretary’s factual determination that an average of 2,500 or more encounters have occurred for 7 consecutive calendar days, excluding encounters described in subsection 4(a)(iii) of this Proclamation, until such suspension and restriction of entry is lifted under subsection (a) of this section.
(c) For purposes of subsection (a) and subsection (b) of this section, unaccompanied children (as defined in section 279(g)(2) of title 6 of the United States Code) from noncontiguous countries shall not be included in calculating the number of encounters.
Section 3. Scope and Implementation of Suspension and Restriction of Entry. (a) The suspension and restriction of entry under section 1 of this proclamation shall apply across the southern border to noncitizens, other than those persons described in subsection (b) of this section, during the period that the suspension and restriction of entry is in effect.
(b) The suspension and restriction of entry under Section 1 of this Proclamation shall not apply to:
(i) all noncitizen nationals of the United States;
(ii) any lawful constant resident of the United States;
(iii) any unaccompanied child as defined in section 279(g)(2) of title 6 of the United States Code;
(iv) any alien found to be a victim of an aggravated form of trafficking in persons as defined in section 7102(16) of title 22 of the United States Code;
(v) all noncitizens who hold a valid visa or other lawful authorization to enter the United States or who present themselves at a port of entry at a predetermined time and place, including:
(A) Members of the Armed Forces of the United States and associated personnel, employees, or contractors of the United States Government abroad, or their accompanying family members who are working under their orders or are members of their households;
(B) Noncitizens who hold a valid visa or who, upon arrival at a port of entry, have all the documents required for entry pursuant to section 1182(a)(7) of title 8 of the United States Code;
(C) Noncitizens traveling under the visa waiver program as described in section 1187 of title 8 of the United States Code; and
(D) noncitizens entering the United States at a port of entry on the southwest land border under any procedure that the Secretary of Homeland Security determines is appropriate to facilitate the unthreatening and systematic entry of noncitizens into the United States;
(vi) any noncitizen permitted to enter by the Secretary of Homeland Security, represented by a CBP immigration officer, based on all of the circumstances, including consideration of critical law enforcement, civil service and public safety interests, and urgent humanitarian and public health interests at the time of entry or encounter, that justified allowing the noncitizen to enter; and
(vii) any noncitizen who has been authorized to enter the country by the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through a CBP immigration officer, because operational considerations at the time of entry or encounter justify authorization for the noncitizen to enter the country.
(c) An exception under subsection (b) of this section from the suspension and restriction of entry under section 1 of this Proclamation shall not affect the inadmissibility of a noncitizen under the Immigration and Nationality Act for any reason other than the applicability of this Proclamation.
(d) The Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Justice shall have the authority to issue any necessary instructions, orders, or regulations to implement this proclamation, including establishing the exceptions in subsection (b) of this section. They shall promptly consider issuing any necessary instructions, orders, or regulations to address the circumstances at the southern border, including any additional restrictions and conditions regarding eligibility for asylum that they deem justified, subject to any exceptions they deem justified.
(e) This Proclamation is intended to limit the legal procedures available to unaccompanied children for entry into the United States under section 279 of title 6 of the United States Code and section 1232 of title 8 of the United States Code.
Section 4. Definitions. (a) The term “encounter” refers to a noncitizen who:
(i) is physically apprehended by CBP immigration officers within 100 miles of the southwest land border of the United States during a 14-day period immediately after entry between ports of entry;
(ii) is physically apprehended by DHS personnel at the southern coastal border within 14 days of entry between ports of entry; or
(iii) is found inadmissible at a port of entry at the south-western land border.
(b) The term “southern coastal boundaries” means all maritime boundaries in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida; all maritime boundaries near the southwestern land boundary, the Gulf of Mexico, and the southern Pacific coast in California; and all maritime boundaries of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
(c) The term “southwest land border” means the entire land border of the United States with Mexico.
(d) The term ‘southern border’ means the south-western land border and the southern coastal borders.
Section 5. Severability. It shall be the policy of the United States to enforce this Proclamation to the fullest extent possible to promote the interests of the United States. Accordingly, if any provision of this Proclamation, or the application of any provision to any person or circumstance, shall be held invalid, the other provisions of this Proclamation and the application of their provisions to any other person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby.
Section 6. General Provisions. (a) This Proclamation shall not be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority vested by law in an executive authority or agency or in the head thereof; or
(ii) the responsibilities of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget in connection with budgetary, administrative, and legislative proposals.
(b) This Proclamation shall be implemented in accordance with applicable law and subject to the availability of funds.
(c) This Proclamation is not intended to, and is not intended to, create any substantive or procedural right or benefit enforceable by any party in court or in equity against the United States, its departments, agencies, or instrumentalities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
