Biden announces order limiting asylum at the southern border: Here’s what it will do

President Biden on Tuesday took long-expected executive action that will turn away migrants seeking asylum who cross the southern border illegally at times when there is a high volume of daily encounters. 

The order will be in effect when the seven-day average of daily border crossings exceeds 2,500 between ports of entry, senior administration officials said, meaning it will go into effect immediately. Biden issued a proclamation announcing the change under the Immigration and Nationality Act. 

Senior administration officials framed the order as a response to congressional inaction on immigration after a bipartisan framework in the Senate was blocked by Republicans for a second time. 

Administration officials walked a tightrope announcing the order, a forceful but targeted shift on asylum rights, one that administration officials said is not comparable to the Trump administration’s system-wide crackdowns.