
<p>With the race to the White House staying at a toss-up, Trump has forced Joe Biden&#8217;s hand to enact an executive order on the border that echoes the ex-president&#8217;s own former immigration policies.</p>



<p>In 2020, Biden attacked Trump&#8217;s border policies as cruel, &#8220;un-American&#8221; and inhumane. The then-former VP campaigned on a &#8220;more humane&#8221; approach to the border crisis and continued that as he rode into his first term as president. ;</p>



<p>But that was a then and Joe Biden was a very different president. Never was it clearer than today, when Biden signed the most restrictive immigration order of any modern Democrat, setting the stage for much of the southern border to close at midnight on June 4.</p>



<p>After taking a pounding from Trump over immigration and flailing on the issue in the polls, the Biden administration will seal the U.S.’s southern border entirely once illegal crossings reach 2,500 people per day. And with daily totals already exceeding that number within the past week, it will go into effect right away. The border will only reopen to asylum seekers after the number of illegal crossings dips under 1,500 per day for a sustained period of time.</p>



<p>If that sounds familiar, it should. The severe regulations are practically identical in scope to former President Donald Trump’s November 2018 decision to suspend asylum rights on the southern border, an initiative that was ultimately blocked in court.</p>



<p><strong>Why Now?</strong></p>



<p>Biden’s actions are only the latest reminder of former President Donald Trump’s success in reframing the political debate around immigration and Biden’s need to reshape administration policy in response. People on both sides of the aisle agree that Biden is taking this kind of action so late in his presidency, and one that is such an about-face from his border policy during most of his presidency is purely politically motivated.</p>



<p>So will the executive order really do any good or is it nothing more than a “Hail Mary” political stunt five months out from the election?</p>



<p>At the border in Texas, Biden’s plan was met with condemnation from elected officials of both parties. While their reasons may differ Texas Republican leaders and some state Democratic officials and even progressive interest groups found little to like in the executive order.</p>



<p>“This is a conversion based on the proximity of the next election and sinking poll numbers,&#8221; U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters in Washington after details of the president&#8217;s plan were released but before the formal announcement at the White House. &#8220;This executive order is just political cover, and the American people aren&#8217;t going to be fooled.&#8221;</p>



<p>Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, perhaps Biden&#8217;s most vocal critic on immigration and border matters, called the initiative &#8220;a smokescreen.&#8221;</p>



<p>You would expect Republicans to find fault with Biden&#8217;s border EO, but they were not the only ones.</p>



<p>State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat whose district includes a stretch of the Rio Grande from northwest of Laredo to southeast of El Paso, said Biden&#8217;s &#8220;actions do little to solve the situation.&#8221;</p>



<p>“We all want safe and secure border communities, but there is a smart way forward that works — without cruelty and inhumanity,&#8221; said Gutierrez, an immigration attorney. &#8220;We must have border solutions that protect women and children and strengthen our economy. Real lives on both sides of the border are going to be affected in a detrimental way.&#8221;</p>



<p>And left-wing progressive advocacy groups said that the measure will present an “immediate danger to an already vulnerable population.”</p>

Trump and GOP Forced Biden’s Executive Order on Immigration
