After three years of border chaos, President Joe Biden announced an executive order on Tuesday to place restrictions on the record number of illegal immigrants seeking asylum in the U.S., effective immediately.
The order gives Biden the kinds of powers President Trump used to secure the border, powers which Biden canceled when he took office and which he claimed for most of his presidency that he did not have the authority to enact.
But with polls showing the southern border as a top election issue, the White House is trying to neutralize a major political liability.
In announcing the move, Biden said, "If the United States doesn't secure our border, there's no limit to the number of people may try to come here."
Republicans in the Senate, where the border issue has become a political football, weren't buying it.
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) said, "Mr. President, Joe Biden: This is too little. This is too late. This stunt is not going to save your political life."
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said, "When Joe Biden came into office, he inherited the lowest rate of illegal immigration in 45 years. All he had to do was nothing. Just sit there and stare at the wall. But instead he deliberately broke the system."
Customs and Border Protection says there have been 10 million enforcement actions since Biden took office.
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Under Biden's new border policy, the border will shut down when migrant apprehensions average 2,500 a day over the course of a week.
And people who enter the U.S. illegally will no longer be allowed to stay while their asylum claims are being processed.
Progressives like Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) warn the move will backfire.
"They think it's going to bring Republicans over or some independents. I don't think it does. And I think in the end, we ended up hurting the very people that we're fighting for," Jayapal said.
The ACLU has already said it will challenge the law in court.
Those who try to help illegal immigrants, like Lilian Serrano with the Southern Border Communities Coalition, worry the order will only worsen the situation at the southern border.
"What we are expecting now is that the Biden administration will weaponize what's left for us over our asylum system to criminalize migrants," Serrano said.
Biden's move is supposed to mean faster deportations and fewer illegal entries at the border, but Biden's expected election opponent, former President Donald Trump also wasn't buying it.
"The truth is Joe Biden's executive order won't stop the invasion. It's weak and it's pathetic," Trump said.
Biden's order makes exceptions for unaccompanied minors, victims of human trafficking, immigrants with severe medical emergencies, and those facing imminent threats to their safety.
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