The White House is telling lawmakers that President Joe Biden is getting ready to approve an executive order that would stop people from requesting asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border once there are an average of 2,500 encounters daily between official border points. The border would only reopen for asylum requests when this average drops to 1,500 encounters. This information comes from multiple sources familiar with the discussions.
The impact of the 2,500 number means the executive order could take effect immediately because current daily figures exceed that threshold.
President Biden is expected to announce these measures — his strongest independent action yet to manage border numbers — at an event at the White House on Tuesday, attended by mayors from border cities.
Five sources confirmed the 2,500 figure and two sources confirmed the 1,500 number on Monday. These numbers represent daily averages over a week. All sources requested anonymity because the executive order has not been made public yet.
Brownsville Mayor John Cowen (Via Harley Simmons/Getty Images)
While other border activities like trade are expected to continue, reaching the 1,500 threshold to reopen the border for asylum seekers could be challenging. The last time the daily average dropped to 1,500 encounters was in July 2020, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Senior White House officials, including Chief of Staff Jeff Zients and Legislative Affairs Director Shuwanza Goff, have been briefing lawmakers on Capitol Hill about the executive order’s details ahead of the formal announcement on Tuesday.
However, there are still several questions about how the executive order would operate, especially regarding the level of cooperation needed from Mexican officials to implement it.
