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A2 UP FRONT
Wednesday 8 March 2023
Plunge in border crossings could blunt GOP attack on Biden

From Front Fox News Channel has hit
hard on the story over the
By ELLIOT SPAGAT last year.
Associated Press Reporter Bill Melguin said
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A sharp in a “Battle for the Border”
drop in illegal border cross- special on Nov. 3 that he
ings since December could had spent more than 200
blunt a Republican point days on the Texas border.
of attack against President “We’ve been shooting the
Joe Biden as the Demo- video all day long,” Melu-
cratic leader moves to re- gin said in a typical report
shape a broken asylum sys- from the Texas town of
tem that has dogged him Eagle Pass. “We keep get-
and his predecessors. ting these massive groups
A new poll by The Associ- of 150 to 200 crossing every
ated Press-NORC Center single day.”
for Public Affairs Research The network’s night-vision
shows some support for drone cameras have
changing the number of showed hundreds of mi-
immigrants and asylum- grants walking across the
seekers allowed into the border, each one appear-
country. About 4 in 10 U.S. ing as a luminous white stick
adults say the level of im- slowly advancing across a
migration and asylum- Migrants watch others stand next to the border wall in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Dec. 21, 2022, on dark screen.
seekers should be lowered, the other side of the border from El Paso, Texas. The poll found 39% of U.S.
while about 2 in 10 say they Associated Press adults approve of how
should be higher, accord- Biden is handling immigra-
ing to the poll. About a ing to escape dangerous more. derly manner or it puts a lot tion, and 38% approve of
third want the numbers to conditions in their native Democrats are split: About of stress, especially on the him on border security —
remain the same. countries. a quarter say the num- border states being able to slightly below his overall ap-
The decrease in border And the new changes — ber of immigrants should provide resources.” proval ratings. About two-
crossings followed Biden’s and subsequent drop in ille- increase, a quarter say More than 100,000 migrants thirds of Democrats but
announcement in early gal border crossings — are it should decrease, and each month were being re- only about 1 in 10 Repub-
January that Mexico would unlikely to stop the barrage about 4 in 10 say it should leased in U.S. border cities licans say they approve of
take back Cubans, Hai- of attacks from conserva- remain the same. They are late last year with notices his handling of either issue.
tians, Nicaraguans and tives who see border secu- slightly more supportive of to appear in immigration The poll was taken Feb. 16-
Venezuelans under a pan- rity as a powerful political asylum-seekers specifically, court or report to immigra- 20, just before the adminis-
demic-era rule that denies weapon. with 37% supporting an in- tion authorities. tration proposed on Feb. 21
migrants the right to seek Biden has been on the de- crease, 26% backing a de- Dan Restrepo, a top White that asylum should gener-
asylum as part of an ef- fensive as Republicans and crease, and 36% saying the House adviser on Latin ally be denied to migrants
fort to prevent the spread right-wing media outlets number should remain the America during Barack who pass through another
of COVID-19. At the same have hammered him over same. Obama’s presidency, be- country without applying
time, the U.S. agreed to ad- the soaring increase in mi- Under U.S. law, numbers lieves the American public for protection there if it is
mit up to 30,000 a month of grant encounters at the are not capped on asylum, will accept high levels of deemed safe.
those four nationalities on border. which was largely a policy immigration — if a system- The administration is an-
humanitarian parole if they The new House GOP lead- afterthought until about a atic process can be fol- gling to have the new rule
apply online, enter at an ership has held hearings on decade ago. Since 2017, lowed. take effect before the pan-
airport and find a financial what they call the “Biden the U.S. has been the The challenge in manag- demic-related limits on asy-
sponsor. border crisis” and talked of world’s most popular des- ing migration “is the sense lum are expected to end
The administration has also impeaching Homeland Se- tination for asylum-seekers, of chaos and disorder that May 11, though legal chal-
proposed generally deny- curity Secretary Alejandro according to U.N. figures. can be created by images lenges appear imminent.
ing asylum to anyone who Mayorkas. Even those who lose in court of overwhelmed process- Becky Steelsmith, a 70-year-
travels though another Agents detained migrants can stay for years while ing facilities and the like at old independent voter
country on their way to the more than 2.5 million times their cases wind through a the physical border,” he from Zachary, Louisiana, is
U.S. without seeking protec- at the southern border in backlogged system. said. “It’s less the numbers reluctant to heap blame
tion there — effectively all 2022, including more than Omar Reffell, a 38-year-old and more the imagery” on Biden because solutions
non-Mexicans who appear 250,000 in December, the independent voter in Hous- that bothers voters. also eluded his predeces-
at the U.S. southern border. highest on record. Accord- ton, said that he supports Republicans cast Biden’s sors, but she notes that the
The new rules put forth by ing to a U.S. official who immigration but that news expansion of humanitarian optics are not great.
Biden could help the presi- was not authorized to dis- coverage of “caravans of parole for four nationalities “The only reason why I dis-
dent fight back against crit- cuss the matter publicly people trying to cross the as a political ploy to divert agree with Biden’s han-
ics who complain he hasn’t and spoke on condition of border” sends the wrong attention from the border dling of it is that I think he’s
done enough to address anonymity, Border Patrol message to migrants. and are not likely to let a little too soft,” said Steel-
border security issues. agents stopped migrants “People think that they up on their criticism of the smith, a retired teacher.
But the moves have also fu- about 130,000 times in Feb- just show up at the border, president on immigration. “I’m not saying it’s his fault
eled anger among some ruary, similar to January. come across, there is not The Federation of Ameri- that it’s happening. I’m
of his Democratic allies Among Republicans, the going to be any repercus- can Immigration Reform, saying that as president,
who are concerned that poll shows about two-thirds sions,” Reffell said. an anti-immigration group, he needs to sit down and
he is furthering a Trump-era say there should be fewer “I’m not against immigra- called January’s plunge really focus and come up
policy they view as anti-im- immigrants and asylum- tion. I think immigration is in border numbers “a shell with some kind of a solu-
migrant and hurting vulner- seekers, while only about good for the country, but it game” to boost Biden’s re- tion, or the beginning of a
able migrants who are try- 1 in 10 say there should be has to happen in a very or- election prospects. solution.”q