WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Tuesday announced plans to enact immediate significant restrictions on migrants seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border as the White House tries to neutralize immigration as a political liability ahead of the November elections.

The federal government will “close” the border to undocumented migrants seeking legal protection in the U.S. when immigration authorities register a daily average of 2,500 or more encounters at the border with Mexico.

That means Biden’s order should go into effect immediately, because that figure is higher than the daily averages now.

The restrictions would be in effect until two weeks after the daily encounter numbers are at or below 1,500 per day between ports of entry, under a seven-day average.

President Joe Biden said in remarks as he announced the policy that he was taking action because Congress had failed to pass any meaningful immigration reform.

“The border is not a political issue to be weaponized,” Biden said, adding that he would have preferred deeper and more lasting action via legislation but that “Republicans left me no choice.”

Instead, he said he was moving past GOP obstruction to “do what I can on my own to address the border” while also insisting that “I believe immigration has always been the lifeblood of America.”

“This action will help to gain control of our border, restore order to the process,” the president said.

Gov. Maura Healey also took aim at Congress, noting her support for Biden’s action and the struggle in Massachusetts to support the influx of migrants sheltered here.

“Congress has repeatedly failed to act on immigration reform, leaving states like Massachusetts to go above and beyond to address this federal problem. It is not sustainable and we need Congress to finally step up and act now,” Healey said in a statement.

Massachusetts has reported 7,435 families in the emergency shelter system as of May 30.

Sen. Ed Markey, however was critical of Biden, urging him to to drop the limits.

“The United States has long embraced its obligation to provide refuge to people fleeing persecution…This asylum ban threatens this foundational promise and pushes the United States in the wrong direction,” Markey said in a statement.

“Limiting our ability to grant legal protection to asylum seekers is irresponsible and ill-advised,” he continued. “I urge the Biden Administration to change course.”

Once the order is in effect, migrants who arrive at the border but do not express fear of returning to their home countries will be subject to immediate removal from the United States, within a matter of days or even hours. Those migrants would face punishments that could include a five-year bar from reentering the U.S., as well as potential criminal prosecution.

Meanwhile, anyone who expresses that fear or intention to seek asylum will be screened by a U.S. asylum officer but at a higher standard than what is currently used. If they pass the screening, they can pursue more limited forms of humanitarian protection, including the U.N. Convention Against Torture.

The directive is coming when the number of migrants encountered at the border have been on the decline since December, but senior administration officials nonetheless justified the order by arguing that the numbers are still too high and that the figures could spike in better weather, when the encounter numbers traditionally increase.

Congressional Republicans dismissed Biden’s order as nothing more than a “political stunt” meant to show toughened immigration enforcement ahead of the election.

“He tried to convince us all for all this time that there was no way he could possibly fix the mess,” GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson said at a news conference. “Remember that he engineered it.”

The legal authority being invoked by Biden comes under Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows a president to limit entries for certain migrants if it’s deemed “detrimental” to the national interest. Senior officials expressed confidence that they would be able to implement Biden’s order, despite threats from prominent legal groups to sue the administration over the directive.

“We intend to sue,” said Lee Gelernt, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union who successfully argued similar legal challenges under Trump. “A ban on asylum is illegal just as it was when Trump unsuccessfully tried it.”

The senior administration officials insisted that Biden’s proposal differs dramatically from that of Trump, who leaned on the same provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that Biden is using, including his 2017 directive to bar citizens of Muslim-majority nations and his efforts in 2018 to clamp down on asylum.

Biden’s order outlines several groups of migrants who would be exempted due to humanitarian reasons, including victims of human trafficking, unaccompanied minors and those with severe medical emergencies.

Trump on Tuesday said on his social media account that Biden has “totally surrendered our Southern Border” and that the order was “all for show” ahead of their June 27 presidential debate.