Biden Administration Still Considering Executive Actions to Reduce Migratory Flows

As immigration continues to take centerstage in the national conversation while U.S. moves closer to the presidential elections, Axios reported that the Biden administration is still considering a series of executive actions to stem the flow of people unlawfully entering the country.

Some analysts had considered the possibility that Biden could make such announcements at this month's State of the Union address, although that did not end up happening.

However, the outlet cited administration officials saying that didn't mean the measures were no longer in consideration, and that they could be implemented this year.

Although migratory flows were reduced in January and February (it decreased by 50% in the first month of the year compared to December 2023 and only ticked up the following month), they tend to increase in spring and summer, something that could potentially increase pressure on the Biden administration to crack down.

Among the measures considered: a sweeping presidential authority that allows him to "suspend the entry" of foreigners when it is determined that their arrival is not in the best interest of the country; and the ability to turn asylum seekers away if they cross illegally. Making it harder for asylum-seekers to pass the first interview to determine whether they can stay in the country is also under review.

However, officials are quick to clarify that no unilateral measure gets close to what a congressional law could achieve and continue urging Republicans to pass a deal. Republicans this year rejected a bipartisan package that allocated $15 billion to border security policies after Donald Trump, the expected GOP presidential candidate, said it didn't go far enough.

Figures from a Wall Street Journal poll show that almost 60% of respondents said they would support the package, "with roughly equal percentages of Republicans and Democrats in favor."

Immigration has been dominating the political conversation in the U.S. and is set to continue doing so during the electoral year. Both parties have traded barbs, with Republicans saying Democrats don't want to implement the crackdown that is needed and Democrats accusing their opponents of going too far and opposing viable measures to score political points by painting them as unwilling to implement any.

Most voters, in the meantime, support different policies that would increase legal migration and grant citizenship to people who have been in the country for years. Concretely, 66% said they would support creating a mechanism for Dreamers to gain citizenship and 74% back a pathway to citizenship for "undocumented immigrants who have been in the country for many years and pass a background check." Over half of respondents (58%) also supported increasing the legal level of immigration to the country.

Biden is seeking to change voters' perspective on who's to blame for the stalemate, as 45% of respondents in the WSJ poll agreed with "the statement that Biden had allowed more illegal immigration by reversing executive orders that Trump had put in place as president, and that Biden had powers to seal the border but failed to use them." In contrast, 39% agreed that Republicans killed the bipartisan deal because Trump told them he didn't want to help Democrats pass legislation.