Joe Biden is set to close the border with Mexico under a new executive order clamping down on asylum seekers.
Signed on Tuesday, the order allows the US to suspend entry of non-citizens crossing from Mexico once the average number of daily encounters hits 2,500 between official ports of entry.
A senior administration official said that under the order, the border would be shut down immediately as the threshold has already been met.
They added the border – which the White House says is “overwhelmed” – would only reopen once the number of migrant encounters at the US border falls to 1,500 a day.
Once the order is in effect, migrants who don’t express fear at returning to their home countries will be subject to immediate removal from the US. They could also face a five-year ban on re-entering the country, and possibly be criminally prosecuted.
Speaking at the White House after signing the order, Biden said Republicans “have left me no choice” but to “do what I can on my own to address the border”.
In a statement, the White House added the order has “humanitarian exceptions” including for unaccompanied children and victims of trafficking.
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But the Biden administration does expect legal challenges against the order, with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) already saying it intends to do so.
ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt said: “A ban on asylum is illegal just as it was when [Donald] Trump unsuccessfully tried it.”
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Lindsay Toczylowski, the executive director for the California-based Immigrant Defenders Law Center, also told Sky’s partner network NBC: “It is a betrayal of what we were told in [Biden’s] campaign four years ago.
“We were told that President Biden would be restoring humanity at our border… But what we are seeing is that history is repeating itself.”
The former president attempted to enact similar restrictions in 2018, only to be blocked by courts. During the 2020 presidential election, Biden called Trump’s policies on immigration “criminal”.
And speaking on Tuesday, the president further distanced himself from Trump and said: “I will never demonise immigrants. I’ll never refer to immigrants as poisoning the blood of a country.
“And further, I’ll never separate children from their families at the border. I will not ban people from this country because of the religious beliefs.”
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In January, Biden said he had “done all I can do” to control the border. He has also regularly accused Republicans of refusing to pass laws on strengthening restrictions, and in February demanded they show “spine”.
Posting on Truth Social after Biden signed the order, Trump said the Democrat has “totally surrendered our Southern Border” and that the order was “all for show” ahead of their 27 June presidential debate.
At a press conference, Republican house speaker Mike Johnson also said: “It’s window dressing. Everybody knows it… If he was concerned about the border, he would have done this a long time ago.”
The style choices of politicians have long been scrutinised by voters and the media.
Women have historically been subject to more inspection for their looks than men.
But all politicians are communicating through their style, according to two experts.
“We receive most of our information, many of us, through screens and through the visuals,” says Hazel Clark, professor of design and fashion at the Parsons School of Design in New York.
Democratic candidate Kamala Harris has been leaning into trouser suits.
“The well-fitted suit, the more masculine suit, is telling voters that she is not a politician’s wife, she is not the president’s wife, she is the president,” says Deirdre Clemente, professor of history at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas.
She wore a dark suit to make her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.
The look “gives that sense of the legal profession, judges and authority. I think it was just saying ‘I’m here to be taken seriously, I can be your leader’,” says Ms Clark.
Many of the audience were wearing white, thought to be a reference to the suffragettes, who fought for women to have vote.
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“I think there’s a lot of weight in the choice of white in the audience of the DNC that night and her choice of a black suit was a power move,” Ms Clemente said.
Donald Trump has had a consistent style for many years – he’s known for his dark blue suit and silky red tie.
“He seems to have been wearing the same red tie since the 1970s. It seems to have gotten longer,” said Ms Clemente.
“It is his way of projecting power, confidence and stability.”
And his vice presidential pick JD Vance seems to have adapted his style to match.
“It’s putting on a uniform to say we are all one, we are all following this person. I think sameness, perhaps, with the party as well,” said Ms Clark.
“With Trump it’s almost become like a costume now.”
Harris often wears a pearl necklace, a reference to her college sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, which was founded by black women at Howard University.
“Her wearing of the necklace is absolutely a shout-out to all the women who have supported her and that sorority is central to that,” said Ms Clemente.
The vice president is also known for her love of Converse shoes.
The trainers, which are associated with American basketball culture, “are a powerful cultural tool because what she’s saying is these shoes are just like the ones you have in your closet”.
Mr Trump and his supporters often wear the instantly recognisable red Make America Great Again baseball cap.
“The MAGA hat has an incredible amount of power, especially here in battleground states,” said Ms Clemente. “You see MAGA hats all around.”
Baseball caps are “ubiquitous in being used to signify something, it’s like having a slogan on your t-shirt”, says Ms Clark.
One accessory all US politicians are rarely seen without is an American flag pin badge on their lapel, which can be used to show patriotism.
It may also project a message that “we are all fighting for the same team” despite political differences, said Ms Clemente.
With seven weeks to go until the US goes to the polls, Sky’s dedicated team of correspondents goes on the road to gauge what citizens in key swing states make of the choice for president.
This week they focus on the second assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
Mark Stone travels to Florida where the foiled attack took place, while James Matthews has been finding out more about the suspected would-be assassin in his hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina.
Plus, Martha Kelner attended a Trump town hall in Flint, Michigan, to hear him speak for the first time after the attempt on his life, and asked voters if it will impact the way they vote in November.
A previous Titan submersible dive to the Titanic was aborted due to an apparent mechanical failure, one of the mission’s passengers has said.
Fred Hagen had paid a fee to go on a dive in the Titan in 2021, two years before it imploded and killed all five passengers onboard.
He told a US Coast Guard panel investigating the tragedy on Friday that his trip was aborted underwater when the Titan began malfunctioning and it was clear they weren’t going to reach the Titanic wreck site.
“We realised that all it could do was spin around in circles, making right turns,” Mr Hagen said. “At this juncture, we obviously weren’t going to be able to navigate to the Titanic.”
He said the Titan resurfaced and the mission was scrapped.
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