PrintBiden’s border executive order is a joke
Joe Biden’s administration recently announced an executive order that will “shut down” the southern border. The administration claims that the new border policy will shut down the U.S.-Mexico border once illegal crossings hit 2,500 per day between ports of entry for seven consecutive days.
This so-called shutdown is a joke because it still permits at least 1.8 million illegal aliens into the U.S. every year, even if it’s properly enforced. The executive order’s sole purpose is to provide political cover so Democrats can say they’re doing something about the southern border.
There are, of course, exceptions. The new order allows entry for:
|
Exception |
Reason |
|
1 |
illegal aliens to cross the border who use the CBP One mobile application at a port of entry |
|
2 |
unaccompanied children |
|
3 |
victims of a severe form of trafficking |
|
4 |
those who face an acute medical emergency |
|
5 |
those who face an imminent or extreme threat to life and safety |
There are other exceptions. Curiously, one legal reason for crossing is included in the exceptions: a non-citizen who has a valid visa or some other lawful permission to enter the United States.
But there are several troubling points in the executive order that can be interpreted as “doing nothing about illegal alien crossings.”
For the first exception, if an illegal alien stands on the Mexico side of the border at a port of entry and uses the CBP One mobile application, does he magically become legal and free to enter the U.S.? For the second exception, if a family of illegal aliens stands on the Mexico side of the border, and the parents wander off, do the children magically become legal and free to enter the U.S.? For the third, fourth, and fifth exceptions, who determines if the illegal aliens qualify and may enter? I know this is shocking, but illegal aliens have been known to lie about their status.
Most troubling is what the phrase “between ports of entry” precisely means. There are twenty-seven ports of entry on the southern border. Does it mean that a border shutdown will occur once illegal crossings hit 2,500 per day for seven consecutive days between those twenty-seven ports of entry? Do only those 17,500 illegal aliens count toward shutting down the border? What about the illegal aliens who cross at overwhelmed ports of entry?
The executive order has lots of “wiggle room.” But do we expect anything less from Joe Biden and the Democrats?
Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
