[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 111 (Friday, June 7, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 48487-48493]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-12647]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 89 , No. 111 / Friday, June 7, 2024 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
[[Page 48487]]
Proclamation 10773 of June 3, 2024
Securing the Border
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
There are more people around the world who are
displaced from their homes today than at any point in
time since World War II. Many factors have contributed
to this problem. Failing regimes and dire economic
conditions afflict many countries, including several in
the Western Hemisphere. Violence linked to
transnational criminal organizations has displaced
substantial numbers of people in Latin America. The
global COVID-19 pandemic upended societies around the
globe. Natural disasters have forced people from their
homes.
As a result of these global conditions, we have been
experiencing substantial levels of migration throughout
the Western Hemisphere, including at our southwest land
border. In 2019, encounters nearly doubled from their
2018 level to almost 1 million. In 2020, the global
COVID-19 pandemic led countries throughout the world to
shut their borders and suspend international travel;
however, once the pandemic began to recede,
international travel resumed, and we again experienced
elevated levels of migration throughout the Western
Hemisphere, including at our southwest land border.
On May 11, 2023, as part of my Administration's work to
prepare for the end of the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention's public health order under title 42,
United States Code, and to return to processing all
noncitizens under immigration authorities under title
8, United States Code (title 8), the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice
(DOJ) issued a final rule, entitled Circumvention of
Lawful Pathways (Lawful Pathways rule), encouraging the
use of lawful pathways and imposing a rebuttable
presumption of asylum ineligibility on those who do not
use them.
The Lawful Pathways rule was designed to address the
high levels of migration throughout the Western
Hemisphere and further discourage irregular migration
by encouraging migrants to use lawful, safe, and
orderly processes for entering the United States or to
seek protection in other partner nations; imposing a
presumptive condition on asylum eligibility for those
who fail to do so; and supporting the swift return of
those who do not have valid protection claims.
As a complement to the Lawful Pathways rule and
associated enforcement efforts, the Department of State
and DHS have taken significant steps to expand safe and
orderly pathways for migrants to enter the United
States lawfully. Those steps include establishing Safe
Mobility Offices in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and
Guatemala to facilitate access to lawful pathways;
expanding country-specific and other available
processes to seek parole on a case-by-case basis for
urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public
benefit; expanding access to visa programs for seasonal
employment; establishing a mechanism for noncitizens to
schedule a time and place to present at ports of entry
in a safe, orderly, and lawful manner through the CBP
One mobile application; and expanding refugee
admissions from the Western Hemisphere from 5,000 in
Fiscal Year 2021 to up to 50,000 in Fiscal Year 2024.
[[Page 48488]]
The Lawful Pathways rule and these complementary
measures have made a substantial impact. On May 12,
2023, DHS returned to processing all noncitizens under
title 8 immigration authorities and is processing
noncitizens at record scale and efficiency. Since then,
my Administration has maximized the use of expedited
removal to the greatest extent possible given limited
resources, placing more than 970 individuals
encountered at and between ports of entry at the
southwest land border into the process each day on
average and conducting more than 152,000 credible fear
interviews, both of which are record highs. As a
result, from May 12, 2023, to May 1, 2024, my
Administration removed or returned more than 720,000
noncitizens who did not have a lawful basis to remain
in the United States, the vast majority of whom crossed
the southwest land border. Total removals and returns
in the 12 months following May 12, 2023, exceeded
removals and returns in every full Fiscal Year since
2010. The majority of all individuals encountered at
the southwest land border from Fiscal Year 2021 to
Fiscal Year 2023 were removed, returned, or expelled.
Despite these efforts, and after months of reduced
encounter levels following the changes put in place
after May 12, 2023, encounter levels increased toward
the end of 2023, and December 2023 saw the highest
level of encounters between ports of entry in history,
as increasing numbers of people migrated through the
Western Hemisphere. The challenges presented by this
surge in migration, which would have been even worse
had the Lawful Pathways rule and other measures not
been in place, were compounded by the fact that the
surge was focused increasingly on western areas of the
border in California and Arizona that are
geographically remote, challenging to address, and
without sufficient pre-existing infrastructure or
resources to respond to the surge. From January to
March 2024, encounters decreased from and have remained
below levels experienced in November and December 2023,
including as a result of increased enforcement by the
United States and partner countries. However, the
factors that are driving the unprecedented movement of
people in our hemisphere remain, and there is still a
substantial and elevated level of migration that
continues to pose significant operational challenges.
The current situation is also the direct result of the
Congress's failure to update an immigration and asylum
system that is simply broken--and not equipped to meet
current needs. While my Administration has vigorously
enforced the law within the constraints imposed by the
existing system, the statutory framework put in place
by the Congress is outdated. For the vast majority of
people in immigration proceedings, the current laws
make it impossible to quickly grant protection to those
who require it and to quickly remove those who do not
establish a legal basis to remain in the United States.
This reality is compounded by the fact that the
Congress has chronically underfunded our border
security and immigration system and has failed to
provide the resources or reforms it needs to be able to
deliver timely consequences to most individuals who
cross unlawfully and cannot establish a legal basis to
remain in the United States.
Despite the strengthened consequences in place at our
border through the Lawful Pathways rule and the related
measures that have led to record returns and removals,
encounter levels are exceeding our capacity to deliver
those consequences in a timely manner due to the
outdated laws and limited resources we have available.
My Administration has repeatedly asked the Congress to
update the outdated and inadequate immigration
statutes, to create a legal framework that is
functional and addresses current realities, and to
provide additional resources so that we can more
effectively deliver consequences at the border. In
August 2023, I requested more than $4 billion in
additional funding for border security and related
migration issues, including more than $2 billion for
urgent DHS border management requirements. The Congress
failed to act. In October 2023, I requested $13.6
billion for border enforcement and migration
management. This request included more than $5 billion
for DHS
[[Page 48489]]
to manage conditions on the southern border, as well as
funding for critical capacity enhancements to keep the
southern border secure. The Congress once again failed
to provide our border and immigration system with the
resources it needs to deliver timely consequences to
those who cross unlawfully.
In early February 2024, a bipartisan group of Senators
introduced legislation (bipartisan legislative
proposal) containing the toughest and fairest reforms
of our asylum laws in decades that would have provided
new authorities to significantly streamline and speed
up immigration enforcement proceedings for individuals
encountered at the border, including those who are
seeking protection. Critically, the bipartisan
legislative proposal included nearly $20 billion in
additional resources for DHS and other departments to
implement those new authorities, such as:
(a) over 1,500 new U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) personnel, including Border Patrol
agents and CBP officers;
(b) over 4,300 new asylum officers and additional
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services staff to
facilitate timely and fair decisions;
(c) 100 new immigration judge teams to help reduce
the asylum caseload backlog and adjudicate cases more
quickly;
(d) shelter and critical services for newcomers in
our cities and States; and
(e) 1,200 new U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement personnel for functions including
enforcement and deportations.
While the bipartisan legislative proposal did not
include everything we wanted, senior officials from my
Administration worked closely with the bipartisan group
of Senators to ensure that the reforms would adequately
address the challenges that we have been facing at our
southern border for more than a decade. However, the
Congress failed to move forward with this bipartisan
legislative proposal.
The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024
(Public Law 118-47) increased funding for DHS over
Fiscal Year 2023, but it did not address the needs
identified in various related supplemental requests,
nor did it equip the Federal Government with the new
authorities from the bipartisan legislative proposal.
In May 2024, when the Senate again considered the
bipartisan legislative proposal, the Senate failed to
advance the measure.
Our broken immigration system is directly contributing
to the historic migration we are seeing throughout the
Western Hemisphere, exacerbated by poor economic
conditions, natural disasters, and general insecurity,
and this fact, combined with inadequate resources to
keep pace, has once again severely strained our
capacity at the border. The result is a vicious cycle
in which our United States Border Patrol facilities
constantly risk overcrowding, our detention system has
regularly been at capacity, and our asylum system
remains backlogged and cannot deliver timely decisions,
all of which spurs more people to make the dangerous
journey north to the United States.
The Congress's failure to deliver meaningful policy
reforms and adequate funding, despite repeated requests
that they do so, is a core cause of this problem. Under
current law, whenever a noncitizen in expedited removal
indicates an intention to apply for asylum or a fear of
persecution, they are referred for an interview with an
asylum officer and cannot be removed through expedited
removal if there is a significant possibility that they
could establish eligibility for asylum. This screening
standard is a requirement imposed by the Congress, but
it has not functioned well in predicting ultimate
success in asylum proceedings. From 2014 to 2019, 83
percent of individuals referred for an interview with
an asylum officer passed the screening stage, meaning
that they were not removed pursuant to expedited
removal, but less than 25 percent of cases ultimately
resulted in a grant of asylum or other protection,
often after waiting years to reach a final
[[Page 48490]]
decision. By imposing a rebuttable presumption of
asylum ineligibility on those who cross the border
unlawfully, the Lawful Pathways rule has made a
meaningful impact in reducing this disparity. The
screen-in rate from May 12, 2023, to March 31, 2024,
dropped to 52 percent for individuals who are subject
to the rebuttable presumption of asylum ineligibility.
However, the Lawful Pathways rule alone is inadequate
during times of record encounter levels and cannot
change the underlying statutory limitations.
Data confirm that the system has been badly strained
for many years and is not functioning to provide timely
relief for those who warrant it or timely consequences
for those without viable protection claims. Due to an
outdated and inefficient system and insufficient
resources that do not allow for prompt adjudication of
claims, too many people have had to be processed by the
Border Patrol and released with a notice to appear in
removal proceedings before an immigration judge since
May 2023. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service
affirmative asylum backlog is now over 1 million cases
and growing, with over 300,000 applications filed prior
to 2021 still pending. At the end of Fiscal Year 2023,
there were over 2.4 million cases pending in the
immigration courts. Pending cases more than doubled
from the end of Fiscal Year 2016 to the end of Fiscal
Year 2020 and doubled again between that time and the
end of Fiscal Year 2023. Between Fiscal Year 2006 and
the end of Fiscal Year 2023, in tandem with historic
increases in filings to initiate immigration court
proceedings, the immigration courts' pending caseload
increased from approximately 170,000 to approximately
2.46 million. During Fiscal Year 2023, immigration
judges completed more cases than they ever had before
in a single year, but more than twice as many cases
were received by the immigration courts than were
completed.
The status quo system--the result of outdated laws and
inadequate resources--has become a driver for unlawful
migration throughout the region and an increasingly
lucrative source of income for dangerous transnational
criminal organizations and other criminal smuggling
organizations that, without countermeasures, will
continue to grow in strength and pose significant
threats to the safety and security of United States
communities and migrants, as well as countries
throughout the region.
Considering these trends and the decades-long failure
of the Congress to address the problem through systemic
reform and adequate funding, and following the
Congress's failure to pass the bipartisan legislative
proposal, I must exercise my executive authorities to
meet the moment. This proclamation answers the call by
suspending entry of noncitizens across the southern
border during this time of high border crossings.
Appropriate exceptions are provided, such as for those
who are particularly vulnerable or present pursuant to
a process the Secretary of Homeland Security determines
is appropriate to allow for safe and orderly processing
into the United States. That process will continue to
allow for individuals to seek entry to this country
each day in a safe and orderly manner, and following
their arrival, to seek protection through the
appropriate process. This proclamation, in conjunction
with steps to be taken by DOJ and DHS, is needed to
enhance our ability to address the historic levels of
migration and more efficiently process migrants
arriving at the southern border given current resource
levels.
These actions do not change or fully compensate for the
fact that our immigration system is under-resourced and
broken, nor do they change the fact that there are
significant limits to what can be achieved without the
Congress fulfilling its responsibility to help solve
the unprecedented challenge that we are facing. No
executive action can deliver the significant policy
reforms and additional resources that were in the
bipartisan legislative proposal. But I will continue to
take actions, within these constraints, to address the
situation at our southern border.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States, by the authority vested in me by the
Constitution and the laws of the
[[Page 48491]]
United States of America, including sections 212(f) and
215(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1182(f) and 1185(a)) and section 301 of title 3, United
States Code, hereby find that, absent the measures set
forth in this proclamation, the entry into the United
States of persons described in section 1 of this
proclamation under circumstances described in section 2
of this proclamation would be detrimental to the
interests of the United States, and that their entry
should be subject to certain restrictions, limitations,
and exceptions. I therefore hereby proclaim the
following:
Section 1. Suspension and Limitation on Entry. The
entry of any noncitizen into the United States across
the southern border is hereby suspended and limited,
subject to section 3 of this proclamation. This
suspension and limitation on entry shall be effective
at 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on June 5, 2024.
The suspension and limitation directed in this
proclamation shall be discontinued pursuant to
subsection 2(a) of this proclamation, subject to
subsection 2(b) of this proclamation.
Sec. 2. Applicability of Suspension and Limitation on
Entry. (a) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall
monitor the number of daily encounters and, subject to
subsection (b) of this section, the suspension and
limitation on entry pursuant to section 1 of this
proclamation shall be discontinued at 12:01 a.m.
eastern time on the date that is 14 calendar days after
the Secretary makes a factual determination that there
has been a 7-consecutive-calendar-day average of less
than 1,500 encounters, not including encounters
described in subsection 4(a)(iii) of this proclamation.
(b) Notwithstanding a factual determination made
under subsection (a) of this section, the suspension
and limitation on entry pursuant to section 1 of this
proclamation shall apply at 12:01 a.m. eastern time on
the calendar day immediately after the Secretary has
made a factual determination that there has been a 7-
consecutive-calendar-day average of 2,500 encounters or
more, not including encounters described in subsection
4(a)(iii) of this proclamation, until such suspension
and limitation on entry is discontinued pursuant to
subsection (a) of this section.
(c) For purposes of subsection (a) and subsection
(b) of this section, unaccompanied children (as defined
in section 279(g)(2) of title 6, United States Code)
from non-contiguous countries shall not be included in
calculating the number of encounters.
Sec. 3. Scope and Implementation of Suspension and
Limitation on Entry. (a) The suspension and limitation
on entry pursuant to section 1 of this proclamation
shall apply across the southern border to noncitizens,
other than those described in subsection (b) of this
section, during such times that the suspension and
limitation on entry is in effect.
(b) The suspension and limitation on entry pursuant
to section 1 of this proclamation shall not apply to:
(i) any noncitizen national of the United States;
(ii) any lawful permanent resident of the United States;
(iii) any unaccompanied child as defined in section 279(g)(2) of title 6,
United States Code;
(iv) any noncitizen who is determined to be a victim of a severe form of
trafficking in persons, as defined in section 7102(16) of title 22, United
States Code;
(v) any noncitizen who has a valid visa or other lawful permission to seek
entry or admission into the United States, or presents at a port of entry
pursuant to a pre-scheduled time and place, including:
(A) members of the United States Armed Forces and associated personnel,
United States Government employees or contractors on orders abroad, or
their accompanying family members who are on their orders or are members of
their household;
[[Page 48492]]
(B) noncitizens who hold a valid visa or who have all necessary documents
required for admission consistent with the requirements of section
1182(a)(7) of title 8, United States Code, upon arrival at a port of entry;
(C) noncitizens traveling pursuant to the visa waiver program as
described in section 1187 of title 8, United States Code; and
(D) noncitizens who arrive in the United States at a southwest land
border port of entry pursuant to a process the Secretary of Homeland
Security determines is appropriate to allow for the safe and orderly entry
of noncitizens into the United States;
(vi) any noncitizen who is permitted to enter by the Secretary of Homeland
Security, acting through a CBP immigration officer, based on the totality
of the circumstances, including consideration of significant law
enforcement, officer and public safety, urgent humanitarian, and public
health interests at the time of the entry or encounter that warranted
permitting the noncitizen to enter; and
(vii) any noncitizen who is permitted to enter by the Secretary of Homeland
Security, acting through a CBP immigration officer, due to operational
considerations at the time of the entry or encounter that warranted
permitting the noncitizen to enter.
(c) An exception under subsection (b) of this
section from the suspension and limitation on entry
pursuant to section 1 of this proclamation does not
affect a noncitizen's inadmissibility under the
Immigration and Nationality Act for a reason other than
the applicability of this proclamation.
(d) The Secretary of Homeland Security and the
Attorney General are authorized to issue any
instructions, orders, or regulations as may be
necessary to implement this proclamation, including the
determination of the exceptions in subsection (b) of
this section, and shall promptly consider issuing any
instructions, orders, or regulations as may be
necessary to address the circumstances at the southern
border, including any additional limitations and
conditions on asylum eligibility that they determine
are warranted, subject to any exceptions that they
determine are warranted.
(e) Nothing in this proclamation shall limit the
statutory processes afforded to unaccompanied children
upon entering the United States under section 279 of
title 6, United States Code, and section 1232 of title
8, United States Code.
Sec. 4. Definitions. (a) The term ``encounter'' refers
to a noncitizen who:
(i) is physically apprehended by CBP immigration officers within 100 miles
of the United States southwest land border during the 14-day period
immediately after entry between ports of entry;
(ii) is physically apprehended by DHS personnel at the southern coastal
borders during the 14-day period immediately after entry between ports of
entry; or
(iii) is determined to be inadmissible at a southwest land border port of
entry.
(b) The term ``southern coastal borders'' means all
maritime borders in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi,
Alabama, and Florida; all maritime borders proximate to
the southwest land border, the Gulf of Mexico, and the
southern Pacific coast in California; and all maritime
borders of the United States Virgin Islands and Puerto
Rico.
(c) The term ``southwest land border'' means the
entirety of the United States land border with Mexico.
(d) The term ``southern border'' means the
southwest land border and the southern coastal borders.
Sec. 5. Severability. It is the policy of the United
States to enforce this proclamation to the maximum
extent possible to advance the interests of the United
States. Accordingly, if any provision of this
proclamation, or the application of any provision to
any person or circumstance, is held
[[Page 48493]]
to be invalid, the remainder of this proclamation and
the application of its provisions to any other persons
or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this
proclamation shall be construed to impair or otherwise
affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This proclamation shall be implemented
consistent with applicable law and subject to the
availability of appropriations.
(c) This proclamation is not intended to, and does
not, create any right or benefit, substantive or
procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any
party against the United States, its departments,
agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or
agents, or any other person.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
third day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand
twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2024-12647
Filed 6-6-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P