DHS: Biden order has cut unlawful southern border migrant entries 40%

June 26 (UPI) -- The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that President Joe Biden 's order limiting migrant asylum entries has led to a 40% drop in unlawful crossing encounters at the U.S. southern border.

DHS said Biden's order coupled with a joint interim final rule along with the Justice Department has seen the 7-day average for unlawful encounters to 2,400 per day, the lowest level of encounters since Jan. 17, 2021.

According to DHS more than 24,000 people have been returned to more than 20 countries under the orders.

"Under the IFR, asylum eligibility is generally limited for those who cross the southern border unlawfully or without authorization during times of high encounters," the DHS statement said.

DHS said despite the presidential order's impact cutting illegal entries, there's no substitute for Congressional action.

"Twice now, Congress has failed to pass the bipartisan border security agreement negotiated in the U.S. Senate, which would have provided the critical personnel and funding needed to further secure our Southern border," the DHS said. "The agreement would have added 1,500 U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agents and Officers, added 1,200 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel, invested in technology to catch illegal fentanyl, and delivered sweeping reforms to the asylum system. Congress must still act."

The American Civil Liberties Union and immigration rights groups sued the Biden administration on June 12 over the immigration order.

"The administration lacks unilateral authority to override Congress and bar asylum based on how one enters the country, a point the courts made crystal clear when the Trump administration unsuccessfully tried a near-identical ban," ACLU Immigrant Rights Project deputy director Lee Gelernt said.

Biden's order and the subsequent DHS-DOJ interim final order limit asylum to an average of no more than 2,500 migrants crossing the southern border unlawfully per day.

DHS said the orders make it easier to remove migrants who "do not have a legal basis to remain in the United States" when the border is "overwhelmed."

It added Biden's order and the IFR "have enhanced DHS's capacity for enforcement against individuals who pose a public safety or national security threat, such as gang members attempting to enter the country unlawfully or without authorization, because the IFR renders those individuals ineligible for asylum and enables their quick removal."

According to DHS, if Congress acted to approve the 1,500 additional Border Patrol agents and CBP officers DHS would be able to enhance enforcement further.

The limitations on asylum eligibility for migrants will be discontinued when encounters drop below certain levels but go back into effect if encounters rise again, according to DHS.

DHS said it needs more personnel and funding from Congress to "quickly impose consequences on all non-citizens who cross irregularly and do not have a legal basis to remain in the United States."