Migrant arrests fall at US-Mexico border as Biden’s asylum ban is implemented

By Ted Hesson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of migrants caught illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border fell on Friday, a senior U.S. border official told Reuters, saying it signaled a new restrictive policy. Biden Administration policy was deterring some illegal immigration.

The U.S. Border Patrol apprehended about 3,100 people crossing illegally, a drop of about 20% from previous days, the official said, requesting anonymity to discuss preliminary numbers.

“It’s still too early to say this is a definitive trend,” the official said. “But I think it’s indicative of some possible early success.”

Immigration has emerged as a major issue for Americans in the months leading up to the Nov. 5 elections that will decide control of the White House and Congress. President Joe Biden, a Democrat seeking another term, faces Republican Donald Trump – an immigration hardliner – in a rematch of the 2020 contest.

Biden took office in 2021 promising to reverse many of Trump’s restrictive immigration policies, but has hardened his stance in the face of record migrant detentions at the border.

Biden implemented a sweeping policy on Wednesday that generally prohibits migrants who illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border from seeking asylum. The asylum ban has exceptions for unaccompanied minors, people facing serious medical or safety threats, and victims of trafficking.

The new policy aims to maximize the number of migrants placed on “expedited removal,” an accelerated deportation process. Since Wednesday, more than 2,000 people per day have been placed into expedited removal, more than double the previous rate, the U.S. official said.

Questions remain about whether border crossings will remain low enough to process people quickly and whether U.S. authorities have the capacity to meet their goals.

The American Civil Liberties Union has promised to sue to lift the measure, which resembles Trump-era asylum restrictions.

(Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington; Editing by Mica Rosenberg and Daniel Wallis)