President Joe Biden‘s effective ban on asylum-seeker entries at the United States-Mexico border was extended indefinitely Monday, but officials said they still needed Congress to act on immigration policy.
The Department of Homeland Security and Justice Department said the temporary rule announced in June by way of executive order was now in effect on a permanent basis after three months’ of feedback.
When President Biden announced the limit on entries, immigrants’ rights groups sued the administration, saying some of the most vulnerable migrants would be affected.
Illegal border crossings have dropped by 55 percent since June as a result of the order, and average daily encounters are now at their lowest point in four years, at about 1,800 per day on average.
“This action has been taken in parallel with other Administration actions that have both increased enforcement and delivered to asylum seekers safe and lawful pathways to humanitarian relief that cut out the ruthless smuggling organizations that prey on the vulnerable,” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas said in a statement Monday afternoon.
U.S Border Patrol Agent Jerry Gutierrez opens a rancher’s gate to get access to the U.S.-Mexico border on September 20, 2024 near Jacumba Hot Springs, California. Immigrant border crossings remain low months after the Biden Administration’s executive order banning most asylum claims at the southern border.
John Moore/Getty Images
This is a breaking news story which will be updated with additional information.
