Biden invokes emergency authority to shut down border when crossings exceed 2,500 per day

President Biden invokes a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act to issue an executive action allowing him to summarily shut down the border to asylum seekers when illegal crossings exceed 2,500 per day, similar to a main provision in the bipartisan border security bill Republicans killed in February. Biden frames the action as necessary given Congress's failure to act. The action halts asylum processing when the threshold is met and resumes it only after crossings drop below 1,500 per day. Within weeks crossings fall by approximately 40%. Republican state AGs immediately sue to block the order. Immigrant advocates criticize it as unlawful and contrary to US asylum law.