The Biden administration will toughen an asylum ban at the U.S.-Mexico border to keep it in place longer, Department of Homeland Security officials said Monday, signaling a desire to curb illegal crossings.
The change, effective just after midnight, will leave asylum restrictions in place until arrests of migrants crossing illegally drop below a daily average of 1,500 over 28 days, lengthened from the current seven-day period, department said.
President Joe Biden issued the asylum ban in June to drive down record numbers of migrants caught crossing illegally. Immigration is a top issue in the run-up to the Nov. 5 election, pitting Vice President Kamala Harris against Republican Donald Trump, who has ripped the Democrat administration for creating an unprecedented migrant invasion.