President Joe Biden has issued a sweeping executive order aimed at curbing record migrant arrivals at the US-Mexico border that have left him politically vulnerable in an election year.
The White House said in a statement that under the order, which took effect at midnight, officials can quickly remove migrants entering the US illegally without processing their asylum requests, stressing that it will happen once a daily threshold is met and the border is overwhelmed.
Rival Republicans say Biden has not gone far enough, while some of the president’s Democratic allies and the United Nations have expressed concern. A spokeswoman for the UN’s refugee agency said those fearing persecution should have access to safe territory.