Immigrants and civil rights groups are suing the Biden administration over an executive order that gives the president power to shut down the U.S-Mexico border and deny asylum if migrant crossings reach a certain amount each day.

Migrant advocates denounced the new “anti-asylum rule” and said it would put thousands of lives at risk. The American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies and the Texas Civil Rights Project among others filed the lawsuit on behalf of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center and the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES).

Biden signed the executive order last week to immediately impose a daily limit on the number of migrants who can claim asylum at the border. It will allow U.S. immigration officials to deport people who enter the country without authorization and will deny their asylum claims if the number of crossings reaches a reported threshold of 2,500 in a day.

The ban allows asylum in very narrow circumstances, which the groups contend is inconsistent with federal laws that allow migrants to apply for protections whether or not they enter through a point of entry. It could create obstacles for migrants seeking other relief, according to the lawsuit.

“The Biden administration’s latest asylum rule… exacerbates chaos at our southern border, undermines the vital work of humanitarian and legal aid groups, and will result in wrongful deportations of refugees to countries where they face persecution and torture. But the president cannot wipe away decades of established law by executive fiat,” said Melissa Crow, the director of litigation at the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies.

Biden invoked a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act used by the Trump administration in 2017 to pass several immigration restrictions, such as the so-called “Muslim travel ban.” Advocates successfully challenged the rule then, the ACLU noted.

“We were left with no alternative but to sue. The administration lacks unilateral authority to override Congress and bar asylum based on how one enters the country, a point the courts made crystal clear when the Trump administration unsuccessfully tried a near-identical ban,” said Lee Gelernt, the deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project.

Biden’s border order comes as the U.S. Border Patrol logged nearly 4,000 migrant confrontations each day in May. Unaccompanied children and victims of human trafficking will be exempt from the rule. And Biden is expected to reveal more exceptions to the rule, according to reports.

Immigration is a major focus ahead of the November election, according to a Gallup poll, with nearly 30 percent of Americans ranking it as their top issue. Trump, as he did in 2016, is focusing his presidential campaign on the border and analysts say Biden is feeling the pressure.

The Biden administration’s immigration policies have received backlash from migrant advocates who say they don’t solve the root problems and from Republicans who think the policies are too lenient.

“It remains shocking, if no longer surprising, that the same elected officials who promised to restore our commitment to humanitarian protections are more than willing to sacrifice especially Black and Brown lives for political points and personal gain,’ said Javier Hidalgo, the legal director at RAICES.

Biden is expected to announce protections for undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens on Tuesday at an event celebrating the 12th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.