The law that pits Biden and Trump against each other would allocate more than $20 billion to the border |

The president of the United States, Joe Biden, took advantage of his visit to the border with Mexico in Brownsville (Texas) this Thursday to redouble the pressure on Republicans to approve a law to contain immigration pressure. Biden recalled that as soon as he came to office he proposed a bill to reform “a broken immigration system.” And that, in recent months, Democrats and Republicans have been negotiating a bipartisan border security agreement in Congress. That agreement has been torpedoed by Donald Trump, who pressured Republicans to reject it, and who this Thursday participated in parallel in another event on the border in Eagle Pass (Texas). The law would have allocated more than $20 billion to provide personnel and equipment for immigration and border services.

The project, which appears to have foundered, included funds for border patrols, asylum agents, immigration judges and reception services. In addition, it included a legal modification that would have allowed Biden to direct returns, suspending asylum rules when certain thresholds in the flow of entries were exceeded. The legislation allows immigrants to apply for asylum, regardless of how they arrive, and they arrive in such numbers that it overwhelms the capacity of an underfunded immigration system. That effectively allows immigrants to settle while their cases are delayed for years. The law would have activated the immediate repatriation of migrants upon exceeding 5,000 illegal daily crossings on average in a period of five days.

If the bill fails definitively, Biden is analyzing the possibility of approving a decree with some measures to make the passage of immigrants more difficult or facilitate their expulsion. Among the measures being considered by Biden’s team is invoking the powers under Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which gives the president broad latitude to block the entry of certain immigrants if necessary. was “detrimental” to the national interest.

Trump repeatedly resorted to that rule during his term, including his controversial entry ban on travelers from Muslim-majority countries, which Biden revoked as soon as he took office. The Biden Government is analyzing whether this provision can be applied when a certain number of illegal crossings is exceeded, in line with the provision included in the proposed law. But if the law is not changed, any decree against border crossings will likely be challenged in court.

Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump visits the US-Mexico border in Eagle Pass, Texas, with Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Fox News host Sean Hannity, seen from Piedras Black (Mexico).
Go Nakamura (REUTERS)

In his speech this Thursday at a border patrol command center in Brownsville, Biden asked Republican congressmen to show “a little guts” and not be intimidated by pressure from Trump. But he also appealed directly to his predecessor: “Instead of telling members of Congress to block this legislation, join me. Or I will join you,” he said. “We can do it together. You know and I know it is the toughest, most efficient and most effective border security bill this country has ever seen. Instead of playing politics with the issue, why don’t we come together and do it,” he added.

According to the information provided by the White House, these are some of the key points of the initiative that has been (for the moment, and perhaps forever) blocked:

Border patrols. The personnel of the border patrol force has remained practically stable in the last four years, despite the fact that border encounters (a euphemism for arrests) have increased by 250% in the same period. Currently, there are only 20,000 Border Patrol agents. The bill would add more than 1,500 new Customs and Border Protection agents.

Asylum agents and reform of the asylum system. Asylum officer staffing has remained stagnant for the past four years and there are not enough asylum officers to do initial reviews. As a result, each asylum case typically takes between five and seven years to process and resolve. Currently, there are approximately 1,000 asylum officers; The bill would add 4,300 additional asylum officers and make the asylum process faster and fairer.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE). ICE detention centers are currently over capacity. Today, ICE has approximately 40,000 detention beds. The bipartisan agreement would increase them to 50,000. Additionally, without immediate action from Congress, the Department of Homeland Security will have to transfer funds to ICE from other critical missions or reduce ICE operations to manage a shortfall of several hundred million dollars.

Immigration judges. There is currently a backlog of more than two million cases for immigration judges. Each asylum case usually takes between five and seven years to resolve. Without more judges, these deadlines and delays will continue to grow. There is currently funding for 734 immigration judges. The bill would provide funding for 100 additional immigration judges and their associated staff.

Fight against drug trafficking. In the fight against trafficking of fentanyl and other illicit drugs, the bipartisan agreement would fund the installation of 100 state-of-the-art inspection machines to help detect fentanyl at ports of entry along the southwest border. It would also give the president the authority to impose sanctions on foreign nationals knowingly involved in significant trafficking of fentanyl by a transnational criminal organization.

Local support. The bill also includes $1.4 billion for cities and states that are providing critical services to newcomers, and would expedite work permits for people who are in the country and qualify.

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