Illegal migrant border crossings are plummeting under President Joe Biden‘s administration as figures dropped by more than 50%, in a boost for Kamala Harris‘s campaign for the presidency.
Data released by the Department of Homeland Security show that the average daily illegal crossing has decreased to below 1,800 daily encounters.
Migrant apprehensions are on track to drop for the fifth consecutive month in July along the U.S.-Mexico border.
In a press release issued by the DHS, they singled out the Republican Party’s effort to hinder and obstruct the Bipartisan: “Twice now, Congress has failed to pass the bipartisan border security agreement negotiated in the U.S. Senate, which would provide the critical personnel and funding needed to further secure our southern border.”
The Biden administration has argued that the U.S. needs more resources and additional authorities to enable reforms and overhaul immigration policy.
Biden’s failed flagship Bipartisan Border Security bill would have delivered sweeping reforms to the asylum system; it would have added 1,500 U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents and officers, 1,200 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE) personnel, 4,300 asylum officers, and invested in modern technology to halt the smuggling of illegal narcotics.
In June, an estimated 84,000 migrants crossed the southern border unlawfully; this was the lowest monthly level since Biden assumed the presidency in January 2021.
Unlawful crossings plunged after Biden enforced a major crackdown on people who crossed into the United States seeking asylum.
On one hand, this will provide a boost for the Harris campaign as Southwest Border encounters have been cut by 55 percent.
On the other hand, the figures are still nearly double what they averaged during former President Donald Trump‘s administration, excluding the pandemic period.
Biden announced an executive action that is aimed at helping migrants who have been living in the United States for more than a decade and have built their lives and families here. It will protect roughly 500,000 people who are married to U.S. citizens from deportation and present them with a pathway to citizenship.
Michael Frazer, Lecturer in Politics at the University of Glasgow, told Newsweek that Harris’ history as a prosecutor suggests she would “not look kindly” on people who violate immigration law.
“Her border policy would probably not be completely different from the failed bipartisan plan. Republican charges that Harris is soft on undocumented migrants are simply not true.
“On the contrary, Harris’s toughness as a prosecutor puts her to the right of much of the Democratic party and was one of the main reasons for her failure in the 2020 primary. What was a vulnerability in a primary, however, may turn out to be an asset in a general election.”
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Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
