Biden administration loosens immigration restrictions ahead of second Trump term: ‘Last-ditch effort’

The Biden administration is loosening some key immigration restrictions ahead of President-elect Trump’s second term, opening the door for thousands more illegal immigrants to enter the country.

Trump has indicated that he could declare a national emergency and use military assets to carry out mass deportations. The Biden administration, however, is taking steps to make Trump’s plans for the border more difficult. The Biden Department of Homeland Security is launching an ICE Portal app in December that will allow migrants to skip their in-person check-ins at an ICE office and instead check in with immigration officials via an app on a phone or computer, according to reporting by The New York Post.

The app reportedly has severe glitching issues and does not track a migrant’s location if he or she is using an Android phone or laptop.

Further, the app does not check migrants for past arrests or outstanding warrants and allows them to opt out of or contest government orders to undergo electronic tracking.  

EXPECT TRUMP TO ROLL BACK HABITUALLY ‘DEFRAUDED’ IMMIGRATION PROGRAM, EXPERT SAYS

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris during a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

The New York Post reported that up to 100,000 migrants will be enrolled in the new program’s first wave.

This comes after the Biden administration set the record for the highest number of illegal migrants entering the country in a single year in 2023, with 3.2 million entries. This surpassed the previous record of 2.7 million set the year before.

Among the cities most impacted by this surge is New York, which has seen over 223,000 migrants arrive in the city since spring 2022. As a sanctuary city, New York spent $3.7 billion in housing, food and other costs in the 2024 fiscal year alone.

Migrants congregate in Tompkins Square Park as volunteers give away food and clothing in the East Village neighborhood of New York City. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

Joe Borelli, a Republican New York City council member, told Fox News Digital that many were hoping that with a second Trump presidency on the horizon, the crisis would “wind down.”

Instead, he said, “These actions taken during the death gargles of the Biden administration are disheartening, to say the least.”

“This doesn’t seem to be in the spirit of the peaceful transition Biden promised,” he added. “This is a last-ditch effort to usurp the will of the people who voted decisively against sanctuary city policies and unrestrained illegal immigration.”  

Mayor Eric Adams speaks to the media about the arrest of illegal immigrants from the NYPD Headquarters in Manhattan on Feb. 5, 2024. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)

Meanwhile, Congressman Mike Lawler, a Republican who represents the suburban New York District 17, told Fox News Digital that the administration’s decision to further loosen restrictions immediately after the murder trial of Laken Reilly’s killer “defies logic and all common sense.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

“For this news to come out just a day after Laken Reilly’s killer, Jose Ibarra was sentenced is astounding,” he said. “Mr. Ibarra lived in a taxpayer-funded hotel in Queens and received a taxpayer-funded airplane ticket to Athens, Georgia, where he committed the heinous murder of Ms. Reilly.”  

“It is appalling that in the waning days of the Biden administration, Alejandro Mayorkas is seeking to loosen restrictions on those who crossed the border illegally in the biggest sanctuary city in the country,” he added.