The Biden administration has announced a new policy that would allow certain asylum-seekers to have their cases handled by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) asylum officers instead of immigration judges. Advocates said the proposed rule, published by the administration on Wednesday, could ease the massive immigration court backlog, which had more than 1.3 million cases as of June.
“By resolving more cases initially at the asylum office, fewer cases will need to be referred into the immigration courts, contributing to system efficiencies and helping to reduce the immigration court backlog,” Human Rights First said.
CBS News reports that under the proposed rule, “USCIS officers would be permitted to grant eligible migrant adults and families asylum, which would allow them to stay in the U.S. permanently. If asylum is denied, migrants could ask an immigration judge to reconsider the case. If that is unsuccessful or no appeal is filed, migrants could be swiftly deported.” Currently, “any person who asks for asylum at the border is given a ‘credible fear’ interview by an Asylum Officer,” American Immigration Council policy counsel Aaron Reichlin-Melnick tweeted. “If they pass, they go to immigration court and apply for asylum there.” But due to the backlogged immigration courts, that process could stretch out for years, he said.
“Today's rule begins by acknowledging that fact: ‘A system that takes years to reach a result is simply not a functional one,’” he continued. “The rule than [sic] explains the big change in the system proposed by Biden: Instead of having USCIS Asylum Officers screen people for credible fear and then send them to a years-long wait for a judge, let USCIS count the credible fear interview as an asylum application itself.” The Biden administration is also seeking to hire potentially thousands of new staffers to the agency.
“Key decisions on the parameters of the plan still remain as the Biden administration awaits comments from the public on the policy for the next 60 days,” BuzzFeed News reported. Human Rights First said it “welcomed some changes” but “expressed concerns over aspects of the rule that would weaken due process protections for asylum seekers and expand the use of the inherently flawed expedited removal process.” Reichlin-Melnick said that [o]ver the next 60 days, advocates will have the opportunity to pore over this 140-page rule and weigh in on what needs to be fixed and what ideas are good or bad. Then we wait months for the rule to be finalized—and see what court battles ensue afterwards.”
A 2019 decision by then-White House aide and noted white supremacist Stephen Miller allowed untrained border officers to hear initial asylum claims, a policy change he made with a clear goal in mind: “Miller has long seen asylum officers as soft and believes border agents would be tougher critics of asylum seekers,” NBC News reported. Then-Sen. Kamala Harris was among the legislators who slammed the move, writing that “ecause of CBP’s law enforcement mission and history of anti-immigrant sentiment, CBP agents are not equipped to apply our laws and regulations to vulnerable individuals seeking our protection.”
While the Biden administration has reversed certain horrific anti-asylum policies—like a decision by former Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III eviscerating protections for victims of domestic violence—it has continued to enforce the Stephen Miller-pushed Title 42 using the pandemic as an excuse to deport vulnerable people quickly. The Biden administration also ended the inhumane Remain in Mexico policy, but in a stunning court decision last week, a federal judge ordered the administration to reinstate it, following a Republican-led lawsuit. The Biden administration has appealed the decision. Barring court action, the administration could be forced to reimplement it soon.
“By resolving more cases initially at the asylum office, fewer cases will need to be referred into the immigration courts, contributing to system efficiencies and helping to reduce the immigration court backlog,” Human Rights First said.
CBS News reports that under the proposed rule, “USCIS officers would be permitted to grant eligible migrant adults and families asylum, which would allow them to stay in the U.S. permanently. If asylum is denied, migrants could ask an immigration judge to reconsider the case. If that is unsuccessful or no appeal is filed, migrants could be swiftly deported.” Currently, “any person who asks for asylum at the border is given a ‘credible fear’ interview by an Asylum Officer,” American Immigration Council policy counsel Aaron Reichlin-Melnick tweeted. “If they pass, they go to immigration court and apply for asylum there.” But due to the backlogged immigration courts, that process could stretch out for years, he said.
“Today's rule begins by acknowledging that fact: ‘A system that takes years to reach a result is simply not a functional one,’” he continued. “The rule than [sic] explains the big change in the system proposed by Biden: Instead of having USCIS Asylum Officers screen people for credible fear and then send them to a years-long wait for a judge, let USCIS count the credible fear interview as an asylum application itself.” The Biden administration is also seeking to hire potentially thousands of new staffers to the agency.
“Key decisions on the parameters of the plan still remain as the Biden administration awaits comments from the public on the policy for the next 60 days,” BuzzFeed News reported. Human Rights First said it “welcomed some changes” but “expressed concerns over aspects of the rule that would weaken due process protections for asylum seekers and expand the use of the inherently flawed expedited removal process.” Reichlin-Melnick said that [o]ver the next 60 days, advocates will have the opportunity to pore over this 140-page rule and weigh in on what needs to be fixed and what ideas are good or bad. Then we wait months for the rule to be finalized—and see what court battles ensue afterwards.”
A 2019 decision by then-White House aide and noted white supremacist Stephen Miller allowed untrained border officers to hear initial asylum claims, a policy change he made with a clear goal in mind: “Miller has long seen asylum officers as soft and believes border agents would be tougher critics of asylum seekers,” NBC News reported. Then-Sen. Kamala Harris was among the legislators who slammed the move, writing that “ecause of CBP’s law enforcement mission and history of anti-immigrant sentiment, CBP agents are not equipped to apply our laws and regulations to vulnerable individuals seeking our protection.”
While the Biden administration has reversed certain horrific anti-asylum policies—like a decision by former Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III eviscerating protections for victims of domestic violence—it has continued to enforce the Stephen Miller-pushed Title 42 using the pandemic as an excuse to deport vulnerable people quickly. The Biden administration also ended the inhumane Remain in Mexico policy, but in a stunning court decision last week, a federal judge ordered the administration to reinstate it, following a Republican-led lawsuit. The Biden administration has appealed the decision. Barring court action, the administration could be forced to reimplement it soon.