The first full day after the announcement of President Biden’s executive order restricting asylum for most illegal immigrants appeared to have no immediate impact on the massive number of migrants coming across the southern border.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sources tell Fox News that Border Patrol apprehended about 4,000 illegal immigrants between ports of entry at the southern border on Wednesday. That is about on par or a little bit higher than what the averages have been in recent weeks, which is usually in the mid to high 3,000s or around 4,000.
Overall, there were roughly 5,600 CBP encounters on Wednesday, which includes the 4,000 illegal crossings and CBP One App releases at ports of entry.
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On top of that, data show that more than 1,000 illegal immigrants were released into the U.S. yesterday in the San Diego sector alone, meaning that the practice of “catch and release” is continuing.
Biden announced the order on Tuesday and said he was “moving past Republican obstruction and using executive authorities available to me as president to do what I can on my own to address the border.”
The presidential proclamation will temporarily suspend the entry of migrants across the southern border once the number of average border encounters exceeds 2,500 a day over seven days, officials said. It is accompanied by a rule from DHS and DOJ that will increase standards for asylum.
However, the rule comes with a series of significant exceptions. In addition to not applying to legal immigrants, it also does not apply to unaccompanied children or to those judged to be “victims of severe forms of trafficking.” It also doesn’t apply to those who schedule an appointment on the CBP One app at a port of entry, where about 1,500 enter each day.
There is also an exception for those who are allowed to enter “based on the totality of the circumstances, including consideration of significant law enforcement, officer and public safety, urgent humanitarian, and public health interests that warrant permitting the noncitizen to enter.”
BIDEN ORDER TO BLOCK MOST ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WHEN CROSSINGS SURGE AS ELECTION NEARS
Meanwhile, internal DHS guidance obtained by Fox News Digital shows that officials will be restricting the time migrants can see a lawyer to four hours from 24 and will not ask migrants individually if they wish to request an asylum screening. Forms of the guidance have gone out to CBP, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS.)
However, agents have been told to look out for behavior that may indicate fear of being returned to their home country, including “non-verbal” actions including shaking, unusual behavior and an “unusual level of silence.”
Agents have been told to post signs in detention centers and run accompanying videos telling migrants about their ability to be referred to an asylum officer.
Democrats have slammed the move as a return to Trump-era policies.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS
“This attempt to shut down the border to asylum seekers uses the same section of U.S. immigration laws that convicted felon Donald Trump used to implement the Muslim Ban and in attempts to cut off all access to asylum,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said in a statement. “While there are some differences from Trump’s actions, the reality is that this utilizes the same failed enforcement-only approach, penalizes asylum seekers, and furthers a false narrative that these actions will ‘fix’ the border.”
Republicans said the move was too little, too late, and conservative critics pointed to the new ICE guidance as proof it lacked teeth.
“It’s bad enough that smugglers and taxpayer-funded NGOs coach illegal aliens on how to get released into the country, but now CBP and ICE are being instructed to coach them, too,” Lora Ries, head of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, told Fox News Digital. “Biden has defrauded the American people and our entire immigration system.”
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