The Biden Administration Is Considering Executive Action to Deter Illegal Migration at the Southern Border

The Biden administration is considering taking executive action to deter illegal migration across the southern border, according to two U.S. officials.

As passing legislation on border security in Congress appears unlikely, the plans under consideration signal that the White House wants to take action before numbers at the border, which have dropped in the past month, rise again as expected.

The plans have been under consideration for months, the officials said. In December, as Congress prepared to leave town for the holidays with no border solution, illegal crossings of the southwest border hit records at more than 10,000 per day.

The unilateral measures under consideration might upset some progressives in Congress, the officials said, but they noted that Democratic mayors who have asked for more help from the federal government to handle the influx of migrants in their cities would be pleased. The measures are still being drafted and are not expected to take place any time soon.

On Wednesday, Senate Republicans blocked a bipartisan border bill that they had negotiated with Democrats and the Biden administration over the preceding months.

{snip}

Regardless of how much any executive action might appear to increase immigration enforcement both on the border and in the interior of the U.S., the officials said, it would pale in comparison to the effects that would arise if Congress had passed the border security bill.

“It’s a plan B,” an official said. Both officials said doing nothing is not an option.

{snip}