Biden Administration Proposes Asylum Rule
Official White House Photo
As Kit Johnson blogged late yesterday, the Biden administration yesterday proposed a rule that would allow border officers to more quickly reject asylum claims of migrants. NPR states that “[t]his change is modest in scope but it illuminates the administration’s larger strategy toward thousands of asylum seekers arriving at the southern border. U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas sat down with Morning Edition’s Steve Inskeep to explain what his department is doing at the border. Listen to their conversation or read the interview here.”
The DHS announced the proposed rule as follows:
“As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s continued efforts to enhance the security of our border and deliver more timely consequences for those encountered who do not have a legal basis to remain in the United States, today the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would allow statutory bars to asylum to be applied much earlier in the process. Even though the number of migrants who are subject to these bars is small, this rule would enable DHS to more quickly remove those who are subject to the bars and pose a risk to our national security or public safety.”
Here is the Associated Press report on the proposed rule.
UPDATE (May 10, 2:30 p.m. PST): FRPM The SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER:
“Yesterday, the Biden administration proposed a new administrative rule further restricting access for individuals seeking asylum in the U.S.
If adopted, the rule would allow asylum officers to apply extremely complicated legal standards during an asylum seeker’s initial interview to determine eligibility — decisions previously reserved for immigration judges. At the interview stage, asylum seekers are tired, unsure of what is happening, stuck in detention, and unable to consult with an attorney who could explain the law to them and help them present their story. Federal courts have no power to review the results of these interviews to correct even basic legal errors. The legal standards at issue in this proposed rule relate to alleged crimes and support for terrorism.
The Biden administration is also expanding its ability to use classified information during any stage of a person’s immigration proceedings. These changes have the potential to be weaponized against Black, Hispanic, Muslim, and Asian migrants targeted by the administration.
`For years, the far-right has tried to scare Americans into adopting cruel, anti-immigrant policies that place unfair restrictions on people seeking safety and a better life in the U.S.,”’said Sarah Rich, senior supervising attorney and interim senior policy counsel, Southern Poverty Law Center. `Unfortunately, this proposed rule from the Biden administration traffics in the same fearmongering and scare tactics at the expense of those who would benefit from our humanitarian efforts.’
`This new proposed rule will not decrease the number of people who look to our country as their best option to live in safety, security or prosperity. It also will not add order to the process or give asylum seekers a better opportunity to establish whether they meet the criteria to remain in the U.S. Instead, it is an abdication of the nation’s values and a diversion from the real threats we face from domestic white supremacists and anti-democratic authoritarians,’ continued Rich.
`The SPLC and the American people support modernizing our immigration laws to bring them in line with our welcoming values and to provide a pathway to citizenship. We continue to urge the federal government to adopt a just, humane and welcoming immigration framework that embraces these values and recognizes the vital role immigrants play in communities across the country, including the Deep South,’ concluded Rich.”
KJ