A Crackdown
www.nytimes.com
We explain the Biden administration’s shift on immigration.

For much of the Biden administration’s first three years in office, migration surged at the Mexican border. Administration officials frequently argued that the problem was beyond their control — a reflection not of U.S. policy but of global forces pushing people toward the border.

Then, starting in December, when the issue threatened President Biden’s re-election, he began a crackdown. The traffic of people crossing the border plummeted. Today, it remains near the lowest point since 2020 and not so different from levels during parts of the Trump and Obama administrations. This week, the Biden administration imposed tough new rules to keep it that way.

  • @chakan2English
    6•2 months ago

    He didn’t really shift his position. He made the mistake of waiting 8 months on the Republicans.

  • @cheese_greater
    -6•2 months ago

    Because the incentives were there for people to take the risk. If there’s no or lesser incentive to make the dangerous trip to the point you’re likely to return with nothing to show for it (because they probably have some sense of whether they qualify or not), its a different calculation.

    The rules and process were far too loose so it consequently resulted in greater migration. The party is over for that and will help to limit it to those who strictly qualify or can make a compelling case that justifies their claim and self-filters from the unqualified or inadmissable applicants who would otherwise be incentivized to make such a gamble

    • @UnderpantsWeevilOPEnglish
      8•2 months ago

      The rules and process were far too loose so it consequently resulted in greater migration

      For refugees? Is the solution to simply shoot people at the border so they have an equal but opposite incentive not to flee their own country?

      Or are we talking about seasonal farm laborers who cross the border to participate in annual harvest? Should we burn down our fruit and vegetable fields and slaughter our livestock en mass so nobody has an economic incentive to take seasonal employment?

      • @[email protected]
        5•2 months ago

        It’s obvious that you aren’t taking this problem seriously. We need to detonate our entire nuclear arsenal and melt the entire continent of North America into radioactive slag. It’s the only way to ensure there’s absolutely no incentive to come here.