WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is finalizing details of a new executive action that would allow the president to temporarily close the southern border to migrants if necessary, and is in talks with Mexican leaders to gain their crucial buy-in before moving forward, according to several reports. authorities. familiar with negotiations.
President Joe Biden directed top aides to develop plans to curb illegal migration months ago, and they are eyeing a presidential authority in the U.S. Code known as Section 212(f), which would allow the president to unilaterally “suspend entry.” of specific groups of people. migrants whenever the number of attempts to cross the border increased too much.
The administration expects to unveil this and other executive actions in June and has been working with Mexico to gain its cooperation on some key provisions, according to several officials familiar with the negotiations. No final decision has been made and the timing could change.
A critical consideration is the upcoming presidential elections in Mexico. On June 2, Mexican voters will choose a new president for a single six-year term.
Polls show a consistent lead for left-leaning Claudia Sheinbaum, whose candidacy is supported by the outgoing administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Immigration is a sensitive political issue in Mexico and there is concern that major changes could affect the outcome of the elections. Any new policies will likely be made public after June 2, officials said.
In addition to invoking 212(f), officials said, the White House is considering a series of other measures that could be implemented over several weeks, including at least one action that would further limit who can seek asylum at the border.
The close coordination with Mexico underscores how essential it has become in any conversation about how to deal with illegal immigration across the U.S. southern border. NBC News reported that Mexico nearly tripled the number of migrants it detained at its own southern border or within its borders last year, which has reduced the number of migrants trying to cross into the US.
Biden spoke with López Obrador as recently as April 28, when the two agreed to work together on migration issues.
The April conversation was seen as a turning point in discussions, sources said.
The flurry of diplomatic activity that followed included discussions about Mexico’s role. The groundwork is being laid so that Sheinbaum can work with the Biden administration to help implement upcoming executive actions, including the possible closure of the U.S. southern border, two officials with knowledge of the negotiations said.
For Biden to use his authority under Article 212(f) to close the border when the number of people crossing daily reaches certain designated thresholds, Mexico would have to be willing to accept back a certain number of migrants blocked from entering the borders. USA, two officials said.
But Mexico is already scattered. According to officials involved in the discussions, the increasing interdictions and displacements of migrants in Mexico have been costly. Asking Mexico to accept even more migrants would add an extra burden.
The Biden administration is preparing to legally challenge any further executive actions it may take on immigration, including the invocation of Article 212(f).
“I expect that if the president takes executive action, and whatever executive action that may entail, it will be challenged in court,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters on Monday.
Senior administration officials have reiterated that concern, with one stressing Wednesday: “We recognize there are limits to what any administration can do in this space with executive action.”
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are forcing a vote Thursday on the bipartisan border package that Republicans blocked earlier this year.
“Democrats are doing this because we believe in fixing the border and we have the ultimate – the only real bipartisan bill negotiated by both sides with a real chance of being passed and put on the president’s desk,” Majority Leader Chuck Schumer , DN.Y., told reporters on Tuesday. “Everything Republicans do has no chance of passing,” he said, referring to the House Republican border security bill, known as HR 2.
Senate conservatives criticized the effort as “not a border security bill” at a news conference Wednesday.
“This is an election year political stunt designed to give our Democratic colleagues the appearance that they are doing something about the problem without doing anything,” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.
Pressed by NBC News about the administration’s plans to use executive authority at the border, Blackburn said the White House is trying to “nuance this situation so they can say, ‘We’re closing the border.’ What we know is that they have no intention of doing that.”
“HR 2 would protect the border, but Schumer and [Senate Democratic Whip Dick] Durbin [D-Ill.] I don’t have the courage to introduce this bill and actually discuss border security,” she said. “So now it’s a half measure; they are crushes.”
The administration has stressed that the measures in the bipartisan border bill would be far more effective than executive action alone, especially when it comes to staffing and funding.
“Now it’s up to Republicans in Congress,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Wednesday. “Do you really want to do something to solve the problem or would you rather use this as a political issue?”
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
