WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Monday it is making asylum restrictions at the southern border even tougher, as it’s increasingly eager to show voters uneasy over immigration that it is taking a hard stance on border security. The new rules, which toughen restrictions announced in June, bar migrants from being granted asylum when U.S. officials deem that the southern border is overwhelmed. But the administration has touted its asylum restrictions, saying they have led to serious drops in the number of migrants coming to the southern border. A senior administration official said Monday that the longer timeline was necessary to make sure that drops in immigration are sustained and not due to a one-time event. “It’s absolutely reasonable to want robust systems in place to know who is coming into our country, and certainly, the surges we’ve seen at the southern border have been unsustainable,” she said.

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Persons: —, Biden, it’s, Donald Trump, Harris haven’t, Kamala Harris, “, ” Harris, Nayna Gupta, ” Gupta, Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, ” Organizations: WASHINGTON, U.S . Immigration, Department of Homeland Security, Border Patrol, DHS, Republican, Democratic, National Immigrant Justice, United, Global, U.S Locations: U.S, Mexico, Arizona, United States