US President signs executive order to stop illegal immigration

Early on June 5 (Vietnam time), US President Joe Biden signed an executive order to temporarily suspend the processing of asylum applications if the average number of immigrants crossing the border into the US each day exceeds 2,500 people.

Senior US administration officials said President Biden's order, based on the Immigration and Nationality Act - which bars entry to the US for foreigners who cross the border illegally - is effective immediately because the average number of immigrants crossing the border into the US per day has now exceeded 2,500. The US will reopen the border once that number drops to 1,500.

In a telephone press conference the same day, several senior US officials said that "in general, people who cross the southern border illegally, or without permission, will not be eligible for asylum, except in very special circumstances."

President Biden signed the above decree in the context of the Washington administration being under a lot of political pressure related to the wave of immigrants at the southern border with Mexico. In a speech announcing the decree at the White House, President Biden emphasized that "the border is not an issue that can be used as a political weapon".

Mr Biden has been weighing action for months after bipartisan legislation to curb asylum-seekers at the border collapsed as a slew of Republicans withdrew from the deal at the urging of former President Donald Trump, who is expected to be nominated as the Republican presidential nominee at the party’s national convention next month.

Although the number of illegal border crossings at the US-Mexico border has decreased in recent months, partly due to increased efforts by Mexican authorities, President Biden is still considering this measure in the context that this is one of the top topics of concern for voters with only half a year to go until the 2024 US presidential election.