TEXAS, USA — On June 4, President Joe Biden signed an executive order that places a daily cap of 2,500 asylum requests at the southern border. Some exceptions include unaccompanied children. The action reopens the border once the number of asylum requests drops to 1,500.
According to records from the U.S. Border Patrol, there were 128,900 encounters with migrants between ports of entry along the southwest border in April 2024. That is 30% lower than April of last year.
Some West Texas mayors of border cities were in attendance during President Biden's announcement in Washington, D.C.
"We appreciate and applaud the president taking action today, as was mentioned by my fellow mayor of El Paso, this does not fix our entire system, but this is a step in the right direction to try to help us cope with this issue," said Edinburg Mayor Ramiro Garza.
While some Texas political leaders praised the administration's latest efforts, others criticized the president's timing.
Representative Brooks Landgraf said the move is a half-measure to the bigger issue of border security.
"This is a baby step forward but it's clearly designed to have an impact on the election year," Representative Landgraf said. "The fact that the Biden Administration has not secured the border and has really done nothing up to this point, has been unpopular with the American people having an unsecured border is an absolute disaster for our country."
El Paso Mayor Oscar Leesor was also at the announcement Tuesday and said it is time for Congress to act.
“This is only the beginning. We still need to have enough funding from congress," Mayor Leesor said. "We need to have a bi-partisan agreement, and without a bi-partisan agreement, we’ll continue to struggle as a community."
U.S. Congressman August Pfluger released a statement following the announcement of the executive order:
"The American people are smart enough to understand that pretending to secure the border five months before an election does not make up for President Biden’s years of lawlessness that invited over eight million illegal aliens and over three hundred suspected terrorists to enter our country and resulted in the tragic deaths of Americans like Laken Riley. I have pushed the President to secure the border for three and a half years. What changed? This is nothing more than an election-year Hail Mary. We deserve a Commander-in-Chief who puts the safety of U.S. citizens first." - August Pfluger, U.S. Congressman
The American Civil Liberties Union said they will sue the Biden Administration over this executive order.