The Biden administration intends to impose new rules barring migrants who illegally enter the US from seeking asylum if they do not apply for protections in another country en route to the southern border.
(Bloomberg) — The Biden administration intends to impose new rules barring migrants who illegally enter the US from seeking asylum if they do not apply for protections in another country en route to the southern border.
The new policy announced Tuesday, which will not take effect immediately, is the administration’s latest attempt to deter illegal crossings at the US-Mexico border that have reached historic highs and caused a political headache for President Joe Biden. Yet the administration has angered immigrant-rights groups who say it could prevent tens of thousands of migrants from exercising their legal right to claim asylum.
“We are strengthening the availability of legal, orderly pathways for migrants to come to the United States, at the same time proposing new consequences on those who fail to use processes made available to them by the United States and its regional partners,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.
Biden administration officials are moving to tighten asylum rules as they prepare for the expected May 11 end of pandemic-era border controls that former President Donald Trump invoked to quickly turn away migrants at the border.
Under the new policy, authorities would make ineligible for asylum migrants who do not seek protections in a third country, such as Mexico, or attempt to apply for asylum at a US port of entry or through other means. Those migrants would be subject to expedited removal, which contains a five-year ban on reentering the US.
The proposed rule cites the government’s “anticipation of a potential surge of migration at the southwest border” after the Trump-era restrictions, known as Title 42, end. The intent is for the rule to go into place when Title 42 lifts, according to an administration official.
The public will have the chance to comment for 30 days before it becomes final. The new rules would be in place for two years.
Earlier: How a Border Surge Tests Biden’s Immigration Approach: QuickTake
The president has faced heavy criticism from Republicans and some Democrats over his administration’s struggle to reduce border crossings. DHS announced in January it would use Title 42 to expel to Mexico Venezuelans, Haitians, Cubans and Nicaraguans who attempt to cross the southern border without authorization.
Authorities are also allowing as many as 30,000 people from those countries per month to enter the US legally and seek permission to work if they pass a background check and have sponsors.
The administration has seen that border apprehensions drop when there are real consequences for illegally crossing into the US, an official said during a briefing for reporters. That has helped relieve pressure on border agents and communities.
When the new policy was announced in January, DHS hinted it would issue a rule limiting asylum claims. Immigrant-rights groups criticized such a move as a rehash of a Trump-era policy that denied access to asylum. Some organizations have threatened to sue the administration to stop the new rules from taking effect, NBC News reported.
“Denying people a fair chance to seek safety and freedom under US law flies in the face of America’s moral leadership on the protection of refugees and President Biden’s campaign promise to rebuild a fair, humane and orderly immigration system,” said Sergio Gonzales, executive director of the Immigration Hub, an immigrant-rights group.
The new policy was not the administration’s first or second choice, but agencies felt compelled to act after Congress failed to pass an overhaul of immigration laws, an official said.
Migrants under the Biden’s administration’s plan can pursue asylum in the US by using an app to schedule an appointment at a port of entry, apply in their home country, seek relief through humanitarian parole programs or by being denied asylum in a third country.
Migrants can seek exceptions to the rule if they have an “acute medical emergency,” face an “imminent or extreme threat to their life or safety” such as rape or torture, or were victims of human trafficking.
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