Biden’s Hard-Line Effort to Close the Border

from The New York Times I'm Sabrina. tavernes and this is the. [Music]. daily good. afternoon I've come here today to do. what the Republicans and Congress. refused to do last week President Biden. announced one of the most restrictive. immigration policies by a Democratic. president in decades today I'm. announcing actions to bar.

migrants who cross our Southern border. unlawfully from receiving Asylum showing. just how much the politics of. immigration in America have changed to. protect America as a land that welcomes. immigrants we must first secure the. border and secure it now today my. colleague zolan Koo Youngs. [Music]. explains it's Tuesday June 11th thank. you you very.

[Music]. much zolen we last talked in March and. at that point Biden was threatening to. take tough action on the border. crossings had been extraordinarily high. and you know this had been a real. political liability for Biden but it. wasn't clear what he would do or when he. would do it last week we got the answer. that's right so last week President.

Biden took the most restrictive approach. we've seen at the Southwest border of. any modern democratic president. President Biden issued executive actions. drastically changing migration policy at. the Southwest border so at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday the president suspended Asylum. at the Southwest border migrants. crossing the border would no longer have. the ability to seek asylum in the United.

States and and this was a seat change. for decades the law has basically stated. that those that step on us soil had the. ability to seek Asylum these are people. that are crossing the border without the. necessary documents that they would need. to come into the country but they've had. the ability to make their case for why. they need Safe Haven and this is a. drastic change to that standard and what. exactly does this executive order do how.

does it work basically it depends on the. number of people who are crossing the. Southwest. [Music]. border as soon as this went into effect. make no mistake Asylum is suspended but. say the average daily number of. Crossings dip below a certain level then. essentially these restrictions would be. lifted and at a time of surging. crossings they would be imposed. essentially sealing the Southwest border. to Asylum seeking migrants.

but one key fact here is for most of the. Biden Administration we have been at a. time of surgent Crossings at the. Southwest border so what are the actual. numbers we're talking about here I mean. you're saying Crossings have been. surging sure so just last week officials. told me and my colleagues that Crossings. were still well over 3,000 a day and is. that a lot that is a lot that is a lot. in the Obama Administration government. officials said that a thousand Crossings. a day were chis oh wow and the 3,000 a.

day Sabrina aren't even the peak that. we've seen under the Biden. Administration just this past December. the administration was scrambling in a. panic over 10,000 illegal Crossings a. day so all of this is context when we. look at the details of this executive. order and when you think about the. current level of crossings that we've. seen in the United States it doesn't. seem like these restrictions are going. to be lifted anytime soon so Biden in.

essence just stopped our Asylum system. because you know it sounds like the. numbers are very high not going to go. down far enough in order to kind of. suspend this new policy so what's the. effect here I mean as of 1201 amm last. Wednesday what was happening at the. border it seems like there's a slow pace. of implementation right now based off. our reporting we have seen some migrants. already getting turned away um shock Ed.

as well because for years the thinking. among those crossing the border there. was an awareness that you would cross. you'd be able to ask for Asylum you'd. essentially be given a ticket to show up. in court and crucially you'd be allowed. to stay in the United States while you. wait for that court appearance and there. are signs that that might not be. happening here right so you know we do. not yet have the DraStic reductions in. Crossings across the border but that's. not the only metric here.

it's not just uh can we stop the number. of people approaching or crossing the. border the question is once they cross. the border will they be able to stay. according to this executive order most. of them will not be able to stay so what. does all of that mean effectively will. we be deporting all these people who try. to seek Asylum yeah I mean even though. this executive order has now been been. issued I mean there's also going to be. questions about just how effective ly.

they can implement this in the weeks. ahead and whether or not they can do. this right you're essentially saying. that a majority of those who cross the. Southwest border now are not going to be. able to seek Asylum and could be. returned to Mexico or their home country. but it takes a lot of resources to do. that you need immigration officers to. encounter these migrants you also need. enough planes enough flights to actually. return people to their home countries. this executive order doesn't have those. resources it doesn't come with billions.

of dollars in funding to actually carry. this out make no mistake I mean the. Biden Administration has been talking. about it for months there was a Senate. Bill bipartisan one in Congress that. would have many of these restrictions at. the border as well as billions of. dollars in funding for some of the. immigration agencies that would carry. this out but what we've seen here these. executive actions don't have the money. so will they have the resources to carry. this out that's a primary question for. us covering this moving forward so there. are real limitations to how policy can.

be executed limitations and logistical. questions absolutely it is not like as. soon as this was signed we are. absolutely certain that every single. migrant and Asylum Seeker will. immediately be returned to their home. country now often immigration policy. changes especially one that's this. seismic it's rare that it's just with. the snap of the fingers implemented. seamlessly right you're going to have. logistical hurdles in the way this is. carried out one potential outcome is you.

essentially have some migrants getting. deported within days if not hours and. other migrants could be stuck in limbo. even in detention in the US I mean. thinking about this policy isn't it. possible that migrants once they learn. about it would just adjust I mean they. understand and I would assume the word. spreads quickly that Asylum is. effectively cancelled so wouldn't they. instead of running toward a border. patrol agent run away from that agent or. is it possible that they would just stop.

coming all together stop coming all. together I doubt it history shows that. that tends to not be true just to take a. step back in the '90s early 2000s most. of the people crossing the border tended. to be individual single men primarily. from Mexico who were crossing the border. to essentially get work right and for. that you're not going to surrender to a. border patrol agent because you're not. asking for Asylum but then we saw this. shift in the Obama Administration like. think like 2010s to around 2014 that's.

where you started to see actually the. demographics change no longer just. individual men but rather children. families as well no longer just from. Mexico but actually Central American. countries and also not necessarily. crossing the border just to get work. temporarily just to cross back into. Mexico no this was now families that. were crossing or children that were. crossing alone crossing the border and. asking for Asylum and in order to do. that in order to seek that protection.

you're surrendering to an immigration. officer you're going to a border patrol. agent rather than avoiding them so in. other words it's a completely different. demographic people crossing Now versus. even in the early Obama administration. more families more fleeing violence in. their home countries than single men. looking for work that's right and just. to bring this full circle it is those. families that are likely going to be. subjected to the restrictions under this.

order because it is those families that. are likely to be the ones that would. seek Asylum but if these people are. stopped and potentially deported this. policy change might actually have a real. effect on the number of Asylum seekers. in the US it could have effect on the. number of Asylum Seekers that are. allowed to stay in the US we know about. this well we see sort of the images of. overcrowding and Border communities of. buses packed with families that are. going to New York City to Denver we've.

heard sort of the criticism from leaders. about the number of people that are. going into their cities the thinking. with this executive action here is that. maybe there are fewer families on some. of those buses that are now going into. these different American. [Music]. cities and that also brings you to sort. of the other point of this action. there's also a question of. Optics look this is about policy and how. it's going to be implemented but without.

a doubt it's also about. politics and how President Biden sends a. message to. [Music]. voters we'll be right. [Music]. back so zolan you said that Biden really. has his eye on the election and one. thing thing of course that you and I.

both know is that immigration is a key. issue for voters what does Biden expect. to get out of this executive action in. terms of Voters yeah that's right I mean. this has been an issue that has sort of. caused concern in the White House and. and anxiety in the White House really. since President Biden came into office I. remember me and my colleagues we. reported that President bid's own. pollsters warned him early on that this. could rise to be one of the real points. concern among voters in the United.

States and that has come to fruition. that has turned out to be true this is. now one of the top concerns if not the. top concerns for many voters across the. United States so if you're the White. House you've basically been listening as. Democratic Mayors and governors and. voters across the country have all. expressed their concern about the rising. numbers of Crossings at the border for. years now and they see this executive. action as sort of the answer to those. concerns so Biden is trying to defuse.

this pretty dangerous political issue. that he feels like he's at this point. kind of on the wrong side of but of. course Olan as we talked about last time. you were on the show that is a very hard. move to pull off he's the guy who's been. in charge for the past three years yeah. that's right there's so many kind of. political risks here I mean you. essentially have a Democratic party and. a president who are trying to flip the. script here to change the narrative and. go on the offensive against Republicans.

when it comes to the border and say hey. we're actually taking action here but so. far we haven't seen Republicans. relinquish any ground on this issue. former president said today on Truth. social that Biden was just making this. move for show because he knows there's a. debate coming up in three weeks actually. just the day after this Trump was. already on true social he did a town. hall in Arizona Biden's order is not a. border security plan it's a concession. to the fact that he has lost control.

over a border he's totally lost control. over the Border criticizing this plan. saying that it was far too weak on day. one of my Administration I will be. resending crooked Joe's outrageous. executive. order and once again accusing him of. sort of being responsible for the. soaring Crossings we've had that we know. is much more complicated than any one. president's actions and that's what. makes this so challenging here the. politics of it you're essentially moving. ahead with a policy action to try and.

neutralize somebody in former president. Donald Trump and his Republican allies. that have proven that no matter what. this situation is at the border this. will be a line of attack for them when. it comes to this white house so Trump is. out there being Trump On the Border but. it's kind of weird because you know what. he wants fundamentally is the border to. be closed and that's what Biden just did. yeah that's right I mean that's kind of. what makes this ironic in a way the.

action that President Biden just took. largely mirrors an action that Trump. took in 2018 even cites the same. provision in immigration law to. basically eliminate the ability for. migrants that cross in between ports of. Entry to seek Asylum so that is just. another sign of how we are seeing sort. of the pendulum of immigration politics. shift to the right and see President. Biden in a way take a out of Trump's.

Playbook when it comes to the border so. given that. move how are Democrats responding I mean. I would imagine that they would not like. this yeah let's start with progressives. we have to honor the humanitarian. obligations that we have made as soon as. this as President Biden came out and. sort of announced that this was. happening you saw progressives such as. Senator Alex Padilla comparing this. action to that of an action taken by the.

Trump Administration I I don't think it. is the right direction I'm disappointed. uh by the executive order you had other. progressives saying that it was a matter. of abandoning sort of values L held by. the United States and Americans you also. had other Democrats including more. moderate Democrats who were saying this. was long needed as well and were sort of. celebrating this issue the Asylum is a. very important part of America's history. but now the system is being abused. thought it was interesting that.

representative Tom swazi of New York who. largely won his special election with. this same sort of Playbook by. challenging Republicans on immigration. the White House had him at President. Biden's speech announcing this measure. I'm a very Progressive person on. immigration I want to see a pathway to. citizenship for dreamers and for TPS. recipients but we have to have order at. the border so I guess it's complicated. when it comes to the Democratic party it. kind of shows just how divided the party. is when it comes to the this issue you. had some praising President Biden saying.

that it was needed and necessary and. others who were saying that who are very. ready to make the comparison to that of. the Trump Administration do we think. that this policy will hold up I mean it. is an executive order and those tend to. be flimsy as we know it's an excellent. question I mean that's why the. administration says they wanted to move. forward with legislation rather than. executive action when it comes to the. Border because of exactly that point. that if you have congress come together.

to sort of push forward a solution here. that is less likely to be blocked in the. courts than unilateral executive action. by a president and I even asked the. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro. mayorcas this directly recently at a. round table I was asking him about this. potential executive action before. President Biden issued it and he was. saying the preference was to have a. legislative solution because he and. others in the White House fully expect.

that this will at least be challenged. based off its legality and we're already. seeing signs that that's that's going to. be true I mean look almost immediately. after President Biden announced this. measure the American civil liberties. Union told us that they had every. intention to challenge it in the courts. and they were saying in their statement. that they said it was illegal when Trump. did it in 2018 and it's illegal now and. the clu is the entity that challenged.

Trump when he tried this in 2018 that. attempt ended up getting blocked in the. courts and the ACLU won that Pursuit so. it'll be interesting to see how it goes. this time around but I guess in some. ways maybe it doesn't matter if this. gets struck down by the courts like it. doesn't matter if the policy is lasting. what matters is the Optics before a very. important presidential election in a. couple of months time uh without doubt. but it's not just about sort of how this.

plays out on the ground the. administration essentially wants to. shape perception about this issue when. it comes to the actions that President. Biden has taken when it comes to the. Southwest border they want voters to. basically see hey look we actually have. moved forward with enforcement minded. policies at the Southwest border even if. those policies are shortlived right so. zolen stepping back for a second here by. bid is implementing this very tough.

border policy Because he believes that's. where most Americans are on this issue. he's talking to the right which seems. like in a way an acknowledgement that. the Democrats had kind of been blown off. course when it comes to immigration and. he's trying to course correct course. correct I mean I think that's right I. mean this is really a pretty huge. pendulum shift when we talk about. immigration politics in the United. States particularly how the Democratic. party approaches immigration. in the United States Democrats in the.

past have pushed for border security. measures but it always sort of was an. exchange for some type of protection for. the millions of undocumented immigrants. already in the United States they wanted. some carrots for those sticks that's. right they wanted some carrots for those. sticks and and we're not seeing the. carrots here it's really you're. approaching just with the stick at the. border just with enforcement it's also. not the first time we've seen a. president used his executive power on.

immigration but just to show you kind of. how much we're in a different place here. I mean think back to the Obama. Administration approaching a different. reelection campaign. 2012 he used executive power not up for. border security but to essentially. provide protection for millions of young. undocumented immigrants in the United. States I'm of course referring to. dreamers or the DACA program as people. may know right so I mean just big. picture here we are see seeing both. parties increasingly coming to a.

consensus on this issue that enforcement. will be prioritized we're seeing public. officials continue to try and sort of. compete with each other on who is going. to be stronger on the border and again. that is just a remarkable shift from how. the United States approached migration. and immigration in the. [Music]. past and what this means for migrants. approaching the Southwest bort moving. forward where they will go if not the.

United States that's also going to be an. open question as we move ahead. particularly as the politics of. immigration increasingly centers on not. allowing people in but seemingly turning. people away. [Music]. zolan thank you thank.

you over the weekend the times reported. that Biden is considering protecting. undocumented spouses of US citizens from. deportation and allowing them to work in. the country legally it appeared to be a. nod to progressives in Immigration. Advocates as Biden tries to navigate the. complex politics of immigration. [Music].

we'll be right. back here's what else you should know. today after far-right parties made. dramatic gains in the European. Parliament elections over the weekend. France's president Emanuel macron has. dissolved his country's lower house of. parliament he called for new elections. at the end of the month macron's move is. a high stakes gamble after the far-right.

party of Marine Le Pen Drew nearly a. third of the vote in those EU elections. crushing macron's own party mcon is. betting that new snap elections could. result in a power sharing agreement with. Le Pen's party and that that in turn. would help stall Le Pen's inexorable. rise ahead of a crucial presidential. election in. 2027 and an activist in self described. documentary filmmaker surreptitiously.

recorded Supreme Court Justice Samuel. Alo saying he agreed with her assertion. that Americans who believe in God have. to keep fighting to quote return our. country to a place of. godliness the filmmaker was posing as a. conservative Catholic and spoke to the. Justice at a charity event the. recordings were posted on social media. on Monday Alo declined to comment.

[Music]. today's episode was produced by Carlos. PR Eric krupy and mo zadii it was edited. by MJ Davis Lynn contains original music. by Dan Powell and was engineered by. Alyssa Moxley our theme music is by Jim. brunberg and Ben Lanser of wonderly. [Music].

[Music]. that's it for the daily I'm Sabrina. Tavern see you tomorrow. [Music].