Candidate Joe Biden pledged to reverse the immigration policies implemented by the Trump administration. His campaign site’s immigration page promised he would “take urgent action to undo Trump’s damage and reclaim America’s values.”
Biden almost certainly will carry out the “undo” part of his promise. However, he has already backed away from the “urgent action” part.
From the Washington Post:
Top advisers to president-elect Joe Biden said Monday they will not immediately roll back asylum restrictions at the Mexico border and other restrictive Trump administration policies, walking back some of Biden’s campaign promises for “Day One” changes.
(Emphasis added)
In other words, the Biden campaign promises in question were lies.
The Post explains that the incoming administration is worried that “easing up too quickly on Trump’s enforcement system could trigger a new migration surge at the border.” It would, indeed, trigger such a surge. But Biden knew this when he made his “Day One” promises.
However, as Mark Krikorian points out, Team Biden is just delaying a border surge. He writes:
The problem for Biden is that it will be politically impossible for him to keep the programs [that have prevented a surge] — Remain in Mexico, Title 42 expulsions, safe third-country agreements with Central American countries — in place indefinitely. Nor is Mexico likely to continue for long its policy of blocking migrants at its own southern border with Guatemala — something it started to do only because of Trump’s threat of trade sanctions.
When those impediments are removed, the basic logic that drove the border crisis will reassert itself: If you can step across the border, or even just present yourself at a port of entry, and you claim to fear persecution, more likely than not you will be released into the interior (since Biden has also pledged to end detention of illegal immigrants, whether they brings kids with them or not). Then, whether or not you actually go through with an asylum application, whether or not you show up for hearings, whether or not you get a deportation order, you can stay indefinitely with no fear of deportation (because Biden has also said only violent criminals will be deported).
(Emphasis added)
Krikorian suggests that Biden is making a political mistake by delaying the border surge his policies are bound to produce:
Ironically, by delaying the full effect of his immigration promises, Biden sets up a situation where news of the renewed border crisis caused by his rollback of Trump’s policies may only break through the inevitable media blackout just when the midterm-election campaign is underway. Republican candidates would do well to start preparing now.
(Emphasis added)
And we should prepare to see those “Republicans pounce” headlines in mainstream media outlets.
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