President Biden Issues Proclamation On Asylum; Legal Challenges Begin

On June 4, 2024, President Biden issued a new proclamation and rule leveraging his executive authority to prevent migrants who enter the United States unlawfully from accessing asylum. Citing a need to enhance the United States' "ability to address the historic levels of migration and more efficiently process migrants arriving at the southern border given current resource levels," President Biden's new rule suspends entry of noncitizens across the U.S. southern border during times of high border crossings. The new border policy will take effect when there is a seven-consecutive-calendar-day average of 2,500 encounters or more between ports of entry. For reference, since February 2021, encounters at the southern border have exceeded these numbers every day. According to the proclamation, the term "encounter" refers to a noncitizen who "(i) is physically apprehended by CBP immigration officers within 100 miles of the United States southwest land border during the 14-day