President Joe Biden warned of tumultuous conditions at the US-Mexico border after pandemic-era immigration restrictions are lifted later this week.
(Bloomberg) — President Joe Biden warned of tumultuous conditions at the US-Mexico border after pandemic-era immigration restrictions are lifted later this week.
“It remains to be seen — it’s going to be chaotic for awhile,” Biden told reporters Tuesday after a meeting with congressional leaders at the White House.
Thousands of migrants have gathered at the border awaiting the end of Title 42, a pandemic public health restriction that allowed the US to swiftly expel undocumented migrants from the US — even if they sought to seek asylum.
In recent months, the White House rolled out new rules that would maintain tougher expulsion practices but allow additional migrants to come to the US if they satisfy a series of requirements, including seeking protection while in countries they transited through, and scheduling a meeting with immigration authorities before entering the US.
Biden said he spent close to an hour speaking with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador about the situation, and praised the country for “overwhelming cooperation” ahead of the repeal of Title 42.
Mexico has agreed to take additional migrants back from the US as part of the announcement that the Biden administration would accept additional asylum seekers.
The president also said the House Republican proposal to raise the debt ceiling in exchange for substantial cuts to federal spending could worsen the situation at the border.
“You’re going to cut agents to the border.
We know we need more at the border, not less at the border,” Biden said.
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