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Biden toughens border, offers legal path for 30,000 a month

Published:Thursday | January 5, 2023 | 3:55 PM
Haitian migrants who hope to apply for asylum in the United States wait to register their names on a list made by a religious organization in Reynosa, Mexico, December 21, 2022, on the other side of the border with McAllen, Texas. The Biden administration on Thursday, January 5, said it would immediately begin turning away Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans who cross the US-Mexico border illegally, a major expansion of an existing effort to stop Venezuelans attempting to enter the US. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Thursday the United States would immediately begin turning away Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans who cross the border from Mexico illegally, his boldest move yet to confront the arrivals of migrants that have spiralled since he took office two years ago.

The new rules expand on an existing effort to stop Venezuelans attempting to enter the US, which began in October and led to a dramatic drop in Venezuelans coming to the southern border.

Together, they represent a major change to immigration rules that will stand even if the Supreme Court ends a Trump-era public health law that allows US authorities to turn away asylum-seekers.

“Do not, do not just show up at the border,” Biden said as he announced the changes, even as he acknowledged the hardships that lead many families to make the dangerous journey north.

“Stay where you are and apply legally from there,” he advised.

Biden made the announcement just days before a planned visit to El Paso, Texas, on Sunday for his first trip to the southern border as president.

From there, he will travel on to Mexico City to meet with North American leaders on Monday and Tuesday.

Homeland Security officials said they would begin denying asylum to those who circumvent legal pathways and do not first ask for asylum in the country they travelled through en route to the US.

Instead, the US will accept 30,000 people per month from the four nations for two years and offer the ability to work legally, as long as they come legally, have eligible sponsors and pass vetting and background checks.

Border crossings by migrants from those four nations have risen most sharply, with no easy way to quickly return them to their home countries.

“This new process is orderly,” Biden said. “It's safe and humane, and it works.”

The move, while not unexpected, drew swift criticism from asylum and immigration advocates, who have had a rocky relationship with the president.

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