Trump is planning a border crackdown. Biden already started one.

Donald Trump has pledged to quickly subdue migrant crossings at the southern border by restoring the policies of his first term, including “Remain in Mexico.”

President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to clamp down on migrant crossings at the southern border by quickly restoring the policies of his first term, including “Remain in Mexico,” which required asylum seekers to wait outside U.S. territory while their cases were decided.

But when he returns to office in January, Trump stands to inherit enforcement tools from the Biden administration that are even more powerful than the policies at his disposal last time.

Biden administration officials, for example, have implemented emergency border controls this year that essentially ban asylum for migrants who enter unlawfully. While Trump’s Remain in Mexico policy provided asylum seekers with access to U.S. courts, President Joe Biden’s asylum restrictions afford no such process, allowing U.S. officials to summarily deport migrants and threaten them with criminal prosecution if they return.