The Trump-Biden contest in 35 days is a juncture for US immigration policy, pitting drastically different visions on green card policy, asylum, refugees, ICE detention and deportations and border restrictions against each other. 1/
Former and current senior DHS officials said a Biden admin. could face an arduous and long road in reversing Pres. Trump's immigration changes.
"It's not like someone shows up on day one and can stop doing regulation A, B or C," DHS No. 2 Ken Cuccinelli told @CBSNews. 2/
If victorious, Biden will be under pressure to not just to undo Trump’s changes, but to also move away from some Obama-era policies, particularly on deportation and detention.
"I always say that Trump is abusing the ICE deportation machine that Obama built” one activist said. 3/
If he secures reelection, Pres. Trump could see through major immigration policy changes stalled by federal courts, such as the end of DACA.
Lora Ries, a former DHS official, said a second-term Trump presidency should also move to end birthright citizenship. 4/
The courts will be key, officials said. In an interview, Cuccinelli accused "left-wing" judges of waging "war" against Trump's immigration agenda.
But Trump has installed 200 + judges—and could appoint a 3rd Supreme Court justice. That's an enduring legacy—even if Biden wins. 5/
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NEWS — Unlawful crossings by migrants along the U.S. southern border dropped for the fifth consecutive month in July, plunging to the lowest level since the fall of 2020. cbsnews.com/news/unlawful-…
U.S. Border Patrol agents made roughly 56,000 migrant apprehensions between official points of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border in July, the lowest number since September 2020, when the agency reported nearly 55,000 apprehensions.
For context: In December, during a record-breaking spike in migration at the U.S.-Mexico border that overwhelmed agents in parts of Texas and Arizona, Border Patrol reported 250,000 apprehensions, or over four times July's tally.
NEWS — In an exclusive interview, Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign chief signaled that Harris, if elected in November, would continue President Biden's asylum crackdown, which U.S. officials have credited for a steep drop in border crossings. cbsnews.com/news/kamala-ha…
I asked Harris campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez if Harris would keep Biden’s ban on most asylum claims.
“At this point … the policies that are … having a real impact on ensuring that we have security and order at our border are policies that will continue,” she replied.
Chávez Rodríguez's comments are the first indication that U.S. border policy may not change significantly if Harris succeeds Mr. Biden as president, despite pressure from progressive activists angry with the Biden administration's pivot on asylum.
NEWS — The Biden administration is planning to announce a new regulation tomorrow that is designed to allow immigration officials to deport migrants who are ineligible for U.S. asylum earlier in the process, three sources tell @CBSNews. cbsnews.com/news/immigrati…
It would instruct government asylum officers to apply certain barriers to asylum that are already part of U.S. law during so-called credible fear interviews. This is the first step in the years-long asylum process.
Migrants barred under U.S. law from asylum include those who may pose a danger to public safety or national security. The rule would allow officials to reject and deport migrants in these categories soon after they cross the border.
One of the reasons immigration is such an intractable issue in the US is because the discourse on it is riddled with misleading / false narratives that lack nuance and extreme positions.
A thread about what I've been thinking about lately as immigration becomes a top 2024 issue:
2/ If you only listen to one side, everyone coming to the U.S. southern border is a bad person, a criminal or someone gaming the system.
If you only listen to the other side, everyone coming to the border is an asylum-seeker fleeing imminent harm.
Both narratives are false.
3/ If you only listen to one side, there's no migrant crisis, despite an unprecedented influx and its humanitarian, operational and security implications.
If you listen to the other side, there's an "invasion." But there's no military assault. Border towns are not under attack.
NEWS — Migrants in Mexico have made over 64.3 million requests to enter the U.S. using a smartphone app that the Biden administration has tried to establish as the main gateway to the American asylum system, internal documents obtained by CBS News show. cbsnews.com/news/immigrati…
Yes, you read that right. Migrants have used the "CBP One" app tens of millions of times to apply for a coveted appointment to be processed by U.S. authorities at an official border crossing.
So far, nearly 450,000 migrants have been allowed into the U.S. under the process.
The number of requests does not represent unique individuals, since it includes repeated attempts by the same people. Nonetheless, the figure illustrates the extraordinarily high demand among migrants to come to the U.S. and the desperation that leads many to try again and again.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is demanding that Texas state officials stop blocking Border Patrol agents from a public park in Eagle Pass, threatening legal action and calling the state's move to seize control of the area "clearly unconstitutional."
Full letter:
DHS is giving Texas until the end of the day on Wednesday to say it "will cease and desist its efforts to block Border Patrol’s access in and around the Shelby Park area and remove all barriers to access to the U.S.-Mexico border."
Otherwise, DHS will refer the matter to DOJ.
Story: The Biden administration demanded that Texas officials stop preventing Border Patrol agents from entering a section of the U.S. southern border commandeered by state National Guard soldiers last week, calling the actions "clearly unconstitutional.” cbsnews.com/news/eagle-pas…