Joe Biden border security easing leads to migrant surge

A rise in the number of families arrested trying to illegally enter the US looms as one of new president Joe Biden’s first major policy challenges.

Joe Biden speaks from the Resolute Desk prior to signing executive orders related to immigration in the Oval Office. Picture: AFP.

Joe Biden’s push to ease the hardline border security of the Donald Trump era has led to a surge in the number of families trying to illegally enter the US.

The trend looms as one of the first major policy challenges for the new president and coincides with House Democrats introducing Mr Biden’s sweeping immigration bill offering pathways to citizenship for 11 million undocumented migrants.

The number of migrant families arrested in January jumped to 7,260 people, the highest in two years and up from 4,500 in December.

All up, more than 75,000 people, mostly single adults, were arrested crossing the Mexican border into the US in January, the highest January figure for a decade.

Some of those arrested claim to be motivated by Mr Biden’s stated aim of easing the hardline border security policies of his predecessor Mr Trump.

Mr Biden has said he is seeking a more compassionate approach to refugees and illegal immigrants but has denied Republican claims that his policies will amount to an “open border.”

The president has signed a raft of executive orders on immigration and border security since taking office, including halting construction of Mr Trump’s border wall and ending the travel ban on people from several majority-Muslim countries.

Mr Biden has also extended legal protections for the children of illegal immigrants – known as Dreamers – and has set up a Taskforce to help reunite migrant children separated from their parents under the policies of the Trump administration.

House Democrats on Friday (AEDT) introduced a sweeping 353 page immigration reform bill proposed by Mr Biden which would make it easier for undocumented migrants to gain US citizenship.

Mr Biden is unlikely to win Republican support for the bill as it stands and its introduction is set to trigger a long period of negotiation with sceptical Republicans.

A. truck displaying messages expressing concern over the deportations of black immigrants drives past the office of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Picture: Getty Images.

The bill promises the first major path to citizenship for undocumented migrants for 35 years. It offers an eight year pathway to eventual citizenship for around 11 million people from Mexico and other Latin American countries.

The bill, which Mr Biden says offers ‘a reasonable path to citizenship,’ prioritises farmworkers and Dreamers as those groups who could receive citizenship after just three years.

But the bill also includes some tougher measures to catch illegal immigrants and drug traffickers such as increased border surveillance technology and higher penalties for employers who exploit illegal labourers.

The bill only applies to those who had entered the US before January 1 – a clause which the Biden administration had hoped would prevent the latest surge in migrants seeking to enter the US.

Meanwhile Mr Biden has also cracked down on the ability of US Customs and Immigration (ICE) officers to easily deport recent border crossers, by requiring pre-approval from a manager.

However Mr Biden has refused calls from the extreme left wing of his party to ‘abolish ICE’ as part of his relaxation of border controls.

Republicans have expressed concern about the reforms with prominent Republican Jim Jordan expressing ‘serious concerns’ about them.

“These reckless changes — allowing criminal aliens to remain in our communities — place Americans at risk and will undoubtedly lead to many preventable crimes,” Mr Jordan said.

Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio said Mr Biden’s bill amounted to a “blanket amnesty” for illegal immigrants.

The bill will be a major test of Mr Biden’s ability to negotiate across the aisle with Republicans.

“If Republicans want to come forward and work on immigration, I think the president is open to working with anyone who wants to get something done and get a bill to his desk,” a senior Biden administration official said. “We’re open to a conversation with anyone about this, but we think this is a much more comprehensive way to deal with this issue than just simply a wall.”

Under Mr Trump refugee numbers in the US fell to their lowest level in 40 years. But his threat to deport ‘millions’ of undocumented migrants did not eventuate, with Barack Obama deporting more illegal migrants in his first term than did the Trump administration.