Biden administration is in the final stages of planning a new policy aimed at clamping down migration through the U.S.-Mexico border.
The new steps would involve shutting off asylum requests and automatically denying entrance to migrants once the number of people encountered by American border officials exceeds a new daily threshold.
President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order enacting the new policy as early as Tuesday although he is yet to finalize it, according to the Associated Press that spoke to four people familiar with the matter.
Biden is considering additional executive actions to address immigration concerns, following the collapse of a bipartisan border bill earlier this year and a subsequent amended bill.
The U.S. Border Patrol caught a record 250,000 migrants crossing illegally in December, but the figures have dropped significantly since then, with 137,000 arrests in March.
Yet, immigration remains a top issue for Biden as the November presidential election approaches.
Republicans, including his opponent, former President Donald Trump, have criticized Biden's handling of the border situation.
White House spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández said the administration "continues to explore a series of policy options" and it remains "committed to taking action to address our broken immigration system."
"While congressional Republicans chose to stand in the way of additional border enforcement, President Biden will not stop fighting to deliver the resources that border and immigration personnel need to secure our border," he said.
The Biden administration is aiming to preempt any potential increase in border crossings that typically occurs when the weather cools.
The new steps include faster adjudication processes and enhanced cooperation with Mexican authorities to manage migrant flows more effectively.
One of the primary measures being weighed is setting a cap on the number of migrant encounters at the border with an average 4,000 encounters per day. This cap might also include asylum-seekers who have pre-scheduled appointments through the CBP One app, which currently facilitates around 1,450 appointments daily.
Migrants arriving after the border reaches a set daily threshold could be subject to automatic removal. This process would be similar to deportation and would make it difficult for these migrants to return to the U.S.
This contrasts with the pandemic-era Title 42 policy, which allowed easier return for expelled migrants.
The bipartisan bill, which had been in negotiations for several months, seemed to be on a promising path toward passage when it got support from the National Border Patrol Council and its president, Brandon Judd, a strong supporter of Trump.
However, the bill was thrown out when Trump asked the members to vote against it.
