US President Biden's new executive order denies asylum claims to most migrants crossing the border unlawfully.  He yesterday issued an executive order to temporarily suspend the processing of most asylum claims at the southern U.S. border when the seven-day average of unauthorized crossings exceeds 2,500.  President Biden says he is acting to restrict asylum to help ‘gain control' of the border.

US media reports say President Joe Biden yesterday unveiled plans to enact immediate significant restrictions on migrants seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border as the White House tries to neutralize immigration as a political liability ahead of the November elections.

“The border is not a political issue to be weaponized,” Biden said, while accusing former President Donald Trump and top Republicans of undermining bipartisan legislation that would have better addressed the issue, according to 5 NBC DFW.

He was cited as saying that Republicans "have left me no choice” and he is seeking to “do what I can on my own to address the border.” He said he acted to restrict asylum to help “gain control” of the border.

Reuters cited the US Department of Homeland Security as saying that migrants caught crossing illegally could be quickly deported or turned back to Mexico under the measure, which will take effect just after midnight.  There will be exceptions for unaccompanied children, people who face serious medical or safety threats and victims of trafficking. 

CBS News says President Biden made the policy changes through a presidential proclamation that temporarily suspends the entry of most migrants at the southern border.  The Departments of Justice and Homeland Security published a regulation to implement his directive.

According to CBS News, officials who previewed the move noted that migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border between legal entry points when the order is in effect will be barred from asylum and “immediately removable” to Mexico or their home countries.  On official reportedly added that the administration plans to carry out these deportations “in a matter of days, if not hours.”

To justify the policy shift, the administration is citing a 1950s law known as 212(f) that empowers the president to suspend the entry of foreigners when the executive branch determines that their arrival is “detrimental” to U.S. interests.  That same law became infamous under the Trump administration, which invoked it to sharply restrict legal and illegal immigration, including travel from certain Muslim-majority countries.

The American Civil Liberties Union said it will challenge Mr. Biden's actions in court.  “We intend to sue.  A ban on asylum is illegal just as it was when Trump unsuccessfully tried it,” Lee Gelernt, a top ACLU attorney, told CBS News.