President Biden Further Restricts Asylum Claims by Migrants at the U.S.-Mexico Border

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. has severely restricted access to asylum for migrants at the U.S. Mexico border.The president's proclamation 1 and the rules implementing it 2 come amid a significant increase in the number of encounters along the border, the failure of prior policies to reduce migration, Congress's inability to enact legislation that reforms and funds the immigration system, and the weaponization of immigration policy in presidential election-year politics. 3"[T]oday, I'm moving past Republican obstruction and using . . .executive authorities . . . to do what I can on my own to address the border," President Biden said upon the proclamation's issuance. 4 He continued: "[W]e must face a simple truth: To protect America as a land that welcomes immigrants, we must first secure the border and secure it now." 5 "We'll carry out this order," he insisted, "consistent with all our responsibilities under international law-every one of them." 6 After taking office, President Biden quickly reversed or suspended many of President Donald J. Trump's efforts to restrict asylum, but when border crossings increased over the first two years of his presidency he instituted his own measures to discourage migration. 7 In May 2023, the administration promulgated the final Circumvention of Lawful Pathways (CLP) rule, which established penalties for certain asylum seekers by creating a rebuttable presumption of ineligibility for migrants who were unable to or failed to schedule an appointment to seek asylum. 8Even under the CLP rule, migrants who crossed the border and 1 See White House Press Release, A Proclamation on Securing the Border (June 4, 2024), at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/06/04/a-