This week as President Joe Biden announced some new sweeping executive actions to curtail asylum claims at the U.S.-Mexico border, local authorities have spoken out on how effective they believe the new legislation will be.
Edinburg, Texas Mayor Ramiro Garza, Jr. said that while some believe the actions won't solve the issue entirely, Garza said after his meeting with the president, "We have to take action."
Immigration
Biden takes steps to curtail asylum claims at southern border
Garza said of the president's actions, "Obviously what he's doing is not going to solve our entire immigration system." But the mayor said it's "a step in the right direction," adding, "Something has to be done."
The federal government will now have the ability to establish an effective shutdown of the asylum process at the border if encounters at the border surpass an average of 2,500 over seven days.
President Biden criticized congressional Republicans for failing to approve a bipartisan legislative package addressing border security, suggesting their lack of action necessitated his unilateral steps.
Mayor Garza said, "The president is doing what he can to address the issues at the border.
Once a shutdown is in place, it cannot be lifted until 14 calendar days after the Homeland Security secretary determines the seven-day average of encounters drops below 1,500. In effect, this means the border will be closed for asylum claims for a minimum of three weeks, officials said.
