The Left has spent most of the last few days howling over Joe Biden’s reversal on Washington DC’s reckless criminal-justice “reform” bill. Imagine what they will do if and when Biden decides to reverse his own reckless border policies. With the pressure building for border security after the kidnapping and murders of Americans over the weekend, Biden won’t have much choice but to make changes.

According to the New York Times, that time may have arrived:

The Biden administration is considering reviving the practice of detaining migrant families who cross the border illegally — the same policy the president shut down over the past two years because he wanted a more humane immigration system, officials familiar with the discussions said Monday.

Although no final decision has been made, the move would be a stark reversal for President Biden, who came into office promising to adopt a more compassionate approach to the border after the harsh policies of his predecessor, former President Donald J. Trump.

This isn’t just a minor change in handling. It’s an end to the catch-and-release policies that Donald Trump ended and Joe Biden reinstated two years ago. While single adults remained detained, the Biden administration released such families on warrants to appear later, which ended up incentivizing the trafficking of children across the border.

That’s what the new policy will end — and will revert back to the prior policy under Trump:

The Biden administration has largely ended the practice of family detention, instead releasing families into the United States temporarily and using ankle bracelets, traceable cellphones or other methods to keep track of them.

And this isn’t the first reversion to Trump’s policies by Biden of late, either. Two weeks ago, the White House announced that it would reject all asylum applications from illegal entrants, again reverting back to the prior policy that allowed for “rapid deportation”:

It would allow rapid deportation of anyone who had failed to request protection from another country while en route to the United States or who did not notify border authorities through a mobile app of their plans to seek asylum.

Administration officials said the policy would take effect on May 11 with the expected termination that day of Title 42, a Trump-era health emergency rule that has allowed border authorities to swiftly expel migrants back to Mexico. The new rule would then remain in place for two years.

President Biden took office vowing to restore a humane approach to the border crisis after his predecessor, former President Donald J. Trump, introduced a series of harsh immigration policies, including the separation of migrant children from their parents. But as the Biden administration has struggled to quell a surge of migrants fleeing economic ruin in their countries, including Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, it has turned to more restrictive measures.

Translation: Biden reversed policies that allowed for rational control of the border and disincentivized trafficking. After two years of mismanagement and a border crisis of unparalleled proportions, Biden is reverting back to the rational policies he once decried.

That has his supporters “furious,” the NYT reported last night:

Mr. Biden’s tough new measures, including a crackdown announced last month that could disqualify a vast majority of migrants from being able to seek asylum at the southern border, have infuriated advocates who say the president is breaking campaign promises and embracing a Trump-era approach to immigration.

Well, that’s because Trump’s approach worked. Biden’s approach touched off a humanitarian disaster and a security collapse. This isn’t a mystery.

The question is — why now? House Democrat Henry Cuellar of Texas has been calling for a reversal of these policies for two years, as have other Democrats in border states. Cuellar’s reward for that last year was a primary challenge that nearly knocked him out of the House, largely on his refusal to kowtow to progressives on this issue. A change by Biden last year might have shored up more support not just for Cuellar but also other Democrats who represent voters near the southern border who are sick and tired of being overrun.

And the answer is: 2024. Biden has belatedly figured out that border security will be a potent topic in next year’s presidential election. That’s especially true if Trump wins the nomination, but Ron DeSantis has also built a national profile on this issue, as has Texas governor Greg Abbott and former Arizona governor Doug Ducey if either or both choose to run. The constant bleeding at the border, literal and figurative, undermines Biden’s approval ratings and sense of leadership — and that will matter to Biden himself in the next few months. He’s hoping that a quick clean-up will neutralize this issue and paint him in a more moderate light.

Will it work? Only if Biden can employ these new policies competently. Based on his track record, the chances of that are somewhere between slim and nada.