Biden rolls out asylum restrictions, months in the making, to help ‘gain control’ of the border

By SEUNG MIN KIM, COLLEEN LONG, ELLIOT SPAGAT and STEPHEN GROVES
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.N.’s International Organization for Migration is responding to President Joe Biden’s effort to restrict asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border by acknowledging challenges posed by increasing migrant crossings. But the U.N. agency says measures to manage migration must respect the right to seek asylum. Biden says he’s enacting immediate significant restrictions. The Democrat signed the proclamation Tuesday. Biden’s order would bar migrants from being granted asylum when U.S. officials consider the border overwhelmed. The White House wants to neutralize immigration as a political liability before November’s elections. Republican lawmakers rejected a bipartisan border security deal at the behest of presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.