A deal has been struck by a bipartisan group of senators that effectively would shut down the US border if the number of crossings exceeds certain levels.
The proposal, which is part of a broader spending bill, would give the Biden administration a new expulsion authority if an average of over 4,000 migrants are encountered per day over the course of a week. If this figure rises to 5,000 daily, or 8,500 in a single day, the authority would be triggered automatically, with the Department of Homeland Security required to turn away immigrants except for in limited exceptions.
The proposal has been negotiated by a group of senators including Kyrsten Sinema, James Lankford, and Chris Murphy, and has been attached to a bill that would provide funding for security assistance for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The funding for Ukraine specifically has been linked to the border in order to appease conservatives in the Republican-led House, but this already has been described as “dead on arrival” by Speaker Mike Johnson.
Critics of the proposal have said that it effectively would greenlight a certain level of illegal immigration given its thresholds, however, the senators behind the deal have rejected this claim. Instead, they have emphasized that the benchmarks are tied to when law enforcement agencies become overwhelmed and are intended to approximate available detention space.
Under the proposed arrangement, asylum claims would be adjudicated in detention or, for those who can’t be detained, such as family units, authorities would accept or reject the claim within six months of apprehension. Given the current system, it can take several years to adjudicate a claim.
The border proposal would also tighten asylum standards while providing the President with similar expulsion powers to those provided to Donald Trump under Title 42. These powers come with a penalty for repeat offenders: immigrants caught attempting to cross the border twice would be barred from entering for a year. Biden has expressed his support for the proposal, alluding to the new emergency authority it would grant him to close the border when it becomes overwhelmed.
