By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order on migration in a bid to gain greater control over the U.S. southern border with Mexico, two sources familiar with the plans said on Thursday.
Biden’s order will likely halt asylum applications and deny entry to migrants once a daily threshold is crossed, the sources said.
Biden, a Democrat seeking a second four-year term in the Nov. 5 election, has tightened his approach to border security in recent months as immigration has become a top priority among voting Americans.
Republicans, including Biden’s opponent, former President Donald Trump, have criticized the president for rolling back restrictive Trump-era border policies and failing to stem higher levels of illegal border crossings.
The sources cautioned that Biden had yet to give final approval to the plan. The announcement could come on Tuesday, the sources said. The White House declined comment.
Biden said in a Univision interview in April that he and his administration were trying to determine whether he has the authority to act on his own and close the U.S. southern border with Mexico to migrants, should that be deemed necessary .
(Reporting by Steve Hollandd; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Leslie Adler)
