WASHINGTON, June 5, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - The United States will temporarily
close its Mexico border to asylum seekers from Wednesday, as President Joe
Biden tries to neutralize his political weakness on migration ahead of
November's election battle with Donald Trump.

The 81-year-old Democrat signed a long-awaited executive order taking effect
at midnight to "gain control" of the southern frontier with Mexico, after
record numbers of illegal border crossings sparked concerns among voters.

"I've come here today to do what the Republicans in Congress refuse to do --
take the necessary steps to secure our border," Biden said in a brief address
at the White House, flanked by officials from border states.

Biden's executive order bars migrants who enter the US illegally from
claiming asylum when numbers surge past 2,500 in a day -- a threshold that
has already been passed. It also makes it easier to deport people back to
Mexico.

The curbs will remain in place until numbers fall back down below 1,500
illegal crossings a day.

Biden came under fire from all sides for the policy shift, which uses the
same law that Trump once employed to ban migrants from Muslim countries when
he was president.

US Republicans immediately slammed the move as too little -- while rights
groups said they would go to court to stop the most drastic migration policy
of any Democratic president for decades.

The UN refugee agency said it was "profoundly concerned" by Biden's measures.

Trump -- whose signature policies included a border wall that also failed to
tackle the problem -- accused his rival of having "surrendered" the border to
illegal immigration.

"Millions of people have poured into our country -- and now, after nearly
four years of his failed, weak leadership, pathetic leadership, crooked Joe
Biden is pretending to finally do something about the border," Trump, 77,
said in a video posted to his Truth Social media platform.

- 'Extremely cynical' -

Under Biden, illegal crossings of the 1,900-mile (3,050-kilometer) border
have surged to record levels, rising to a monthly peak of around 300,000 --
10,000 a day -- in December.

Most are from Central America and Venezuela as they flee poverty, violence
and disasters exacerbated by climate change, but growing numbers are also
coming from other parts of the world to Latin America before making the
treacherous trip north to the United States.

"We have families, children to provide for. We don't come here for pleasure,"
Miguel Angel Ramos, a Honduran migrant, told AFP from the Mexican side of the
border.

"The only thing I would ask is that they give us a chance."

Erickson Quintero from Venezuela add that "it's (Biden's) decision. But we
have suffered a lot," including from cartels and police.

Migrant numbers have fallen considerably in recent months, to some 179,000 in
April, but polls show it is still one of Biden's biggest electoral
liabilities.

Biden slammed Trump and Republicans for "weaponizing" migration by blocking
his request for billions of dollars in border funding earlier this year in
what he called an "extremely cynical, political move."

He also addressed his critics on the left, insisting that he would not
"demonize" migrants and adding: "For those who say the steps I've taken are
too strict, I say to you... be patient."

Migrants entering the United States are normally allowed to claim asylum if
they face harm or persecution on the grounds of race, religion, nationality,
political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.

But many spend years waiting for their claims to be processed, with critics
saying that people often game the system to remain in the United States.

A senior White House official moved to defuse criticisms that Biden is
effectively copying Trump, saying that while in office, the Republican
"demonized immigrants, instituted mass raids, separated families at the
border and put kids in cages. Their policies went against our values as a
nation."

Trump has drastically ramped up his anti-immigration rhetoric as he seeks a
White House comeback.

Biden spoke to his outgoing Mexican counterpart Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador
on Tuesday and thanked him for helping "manage migration at our shared
border," the White House said.

The US president spoke to president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico's first
woman leader, on Monday.