Flouting promises, Biden is adopting a harder line on migrants than Trump

United States President Joe Biden's administration has often sought to distance itself from its predecessors. Whether it be former President Donald Trump's populist rhetoric, anti-status quo policies or the mainstreaming of rightwing views on subjects such as immigration, Democrats have attempted to present themselves as moderating influences in US politics.

However, on migration Biden has been mirroring, and in some ways, even surpassing Trump, as he adopts hardline, uncompromising and protectionist policies on migrants just before the 2024 US elections.

Under his administration, migrants have witnessed more deportations than under Trump, despite Biden's initial promise to rescind immigration measures adopted by his predecessor.

As election season approaches, the Biden administration seems inclined to choose populist policies on migration for political gain instead of standing on principle.

Failed immigration reform

This was not always the case. Joe Biden initially sought to reform the US migration system, pointing out that Republicans have prioritised partisan politics over national security.

His administration also attempted to boost refugee admissions and not cease enforcing the Trump era "public charge" rules that deny green cards to immigrants who may be accessing public health services under Medicaid.

Then a surge of migrants arrived at the US-Mexico border at the end of 2023. According to the Pew Research Center, the number of people trying to enter the US at the southern border hit a record high at the end of December 2023, with US Border Patrol being involved in nearly 250,000 encounters.

Biden's failure to curb this influx has resulted in public opinion turning against his administration. Last month, some 68 percent of Americans said they blamed Biden for the border crisis.

Trump, his potential rival in the 2024 presidential race, has capitalised on the brewing discontent by claiming that his administration will impose strict immigration restrictions, detention camps and an expanded border wall.

Yet instead of continuing to counter Trump with policies which are more accommodating, the Biden administration has opted to implement executive actions to bar migrants from crossing into the United States, deploy a record number of law enforcement personnel infrastructure and technology at the Southern border and hint at prosecuting individuals for violating immigration laws.

Looming elections

Biden's approach to the border crisis is beginning to look eerily like Trump's.

Take his policy on asylum as an example. Last month, the Biden administration signed an executive order allowing border authorities to deport migrants who entered the US illegally.

While Biden has not made a policy of prosecuting migrants for violating immigration laws, he delivered a speech on June 4 warning that the border would be shut down to asylum seekers if the numbers get too overwhelming.

It still remains closed to this type of crossing today although open for those seeking work, necessary medical care and official business.

Biden's executive order is anchored in a law known as Section 212 (f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This allows an American president to suspend entry of foreigners if they are deemed detrimental to the interests of the country.

Recall that Trump, in the first week of his presidency, invoked the same law to ban immigration from several Muslim countries. This reintroduced open religious and racial discrimination, which is in defiance of a civil rights-focused overhaul of immigration law that Congress enacted in 1965.

Then comes the "Title 42" authority which the Trump administration implemented in March 2020 and was carried forward by the Biden administration. Title 42 is a controversial statute projected as a public health measure that expels migrants including asylum seekers from entering the United States suspected of carrying the COVID-19 virus.

Approximately 400,000 people were detained and deported until January 2021, when Trump left office. Instead of rescinding the statute, however, Biden defended it and used the pandemic as a justification for its continuation.

As a result, over two million people have been expelled between January 2021 and May 11, 2023, when the policy was finally discontinued. Now the Biden administration has adopted a carrot and stick policy.

This approach entails discouraging border crossings and instead offering "legal pathways" to immigrants by opening up regional immigration processing centres in South America.

During the Trump era, migrant adults who entered the US illegally were sometimes deported without their children. The Biden administration has attempted to reverse this policy, but not all families have been reunited.

The announcement of new actions such as the Department of Homeland Security ensuring that American citizens with non-citizen spouses and children are allowed to keep their families together, has not prevented nearly 1,400 children still waiting to be reunited.

Such actions to prevent the separation of families which lack comprehensive implementation clearly suggest that even on Trump's policies that Biden has reversed, notable shortcomings exist.

Mirroring policies

Despite claiming to take a more friendly approach toward immigrants, the Biden administration is expected to continue toeing the Trump line as elections approach in November.

At the White House last month, Biden unveiled a new plan to shut down the US border to asylum seekers. This is a sharp detour from his previous election pledges during his 2020 campaign, in which he promised to revoke Trump's immigration actions.

Yet this shift towards populism is resonating with Democrats who face a stiff test from a Donald Trump-led Republican opposition which is seeking to capitalise on Biden's declining approval rates.

Biden is mirroring and in some cases surpassing Trump's anti-immigration policies to reverse declining approval ratings and rising discontent. This playbook is set to continue for the foreseeable future.