Republican opponents and some Democratic friends of US President Joe Biden have criticized his recent executive action intended to reduce historic levels of immigration at the US-Mexico border.
The directive went into force at midnight and allows authorities to swiftly deport people who are entering the country illegally without first considering their petitions for asylum.
Republicans have denounced the plan as an election-season ploy and demanded more decisive action, while left-wing Democrats, activists, and the UN have expressed concerns.
However, Mr. Biden claims that his Republican rivals obstructed a bipartisan agreement on border security that was rejected earlier this year in Congress.
On Tuesday, the day of the executive order, the president came under fire from Donald Trump, his opponent in November’s election.
Trump posted on social media that Mr. Biden had “surrendered our southern border” and was now “pretending to finally do something” about it. Others who agreed with him included Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.
The president retaliated, calling the Trump administration’s pressure on Republican members to obstruct the proposed border plan in Congress earlier in the year a “very cynical political move.”
With an executive order, the president promised to “help us gain control of our border” during his speech on Tuesday.
He begged the forbearance of his left-wing detractors. “We’re wearing thin right now,” he remarked. “Doing nothing is not an option.”
