A hidden provision within the extensive 280-page Border Act highlights a significant caveat: the much-discussed emergency “shutdown” of borders remains at the discretion of the President’s homeland security official.
Contrary to initial reports, the emergency measure—which has garnered substantial media attention—is not as definitive as believed. It stipulates a shutdown can only occur under circumstances far exceeding those that prompted the border emergency declaration during former President Trump’s tenure.
The intricacies of the bill raise the criteria needed for a border closure and introduce numerous exemptions, effectively complicating a president’s ability to enact such a shutdown. This legislative approach starkly contrasts the narrative presented by some media outlets in recent days.
Donald Trump Jr. took to social media, voicing his criticism. He lambasted the bipartisan immigration agreement as a covert amnesty plan poised to guarantee, in his view, a continuous influx of undocumented immigrants, estimated at two million annually.
Proponents of the pro-migration bill have pointed to the shutdown mechanism as a pivotal feature, largely due to its appeal to the American public and its utility as a powerful talking point for President Biden and journalists.
President Biden, addressing the nation on January 26, asserted that the new legislation would invest him with the power to close the borders under overwhelming circumstances—a promise he intends to act upon immediately upon the law’s enactment. Yet, thorough analysis reveals that the prerequisites for such a “mandatory” lockdown are unlikely to be met. Furthermore, the provision’s three-year expiration and the introduction of an expedited asylum process risk undermining the intended effect, potentially leading to a faster path to citizenship for many migrants by the end of the decade.