WASHINGTON – The Biden administration announced delayed last week that it is proposing changes to the asylum system that would allow immigration officials to reject asylum seekers whose criminal histories pose a threat to national security or public safety and quickly remove them.
These changes will be implemented during the pre-screening stages, a senior U.S. Department of Homeland Security official said on background during a call with reporters.
The proposed rule would allow asylum officials to issue a denial within days if there is evidence that a migrant is ineligible to apply for asylum because of ties to terrorism, a threat to national security or a criminal history.
“This really only applies to people who have a serious criminal history or are associated with terrorist activity and inherently represent a small fraction of the people we meet or talk to on any given day,” a senior DHS official said. “We don’t think this rule will apply to a large number of people, but it will apply to the people we care about most.”
Currently, when a migrant applies for asylum, they go through: “credible fear” screening. even if they face criminal charges and depending on the severity of the charges, they may still apply for asylum or be disqualified.
“The proposed rule we published today is another step in our ongoing effort to keep the American public safe by more quickly identifying and removing people who pose a security threat and have no legal basis to remain here,” said the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.
DHS is also issuing revised guidance for asylum officials to consider whether an asylum seeker may move to another part of his or her country where he or she fears persecution, called internal relocation. This has been implemented under the Trump administration by Ken Cuccinelli and the Biden administration withdrew this policy.
The up-to-date guidelines “will ensure the early identification and removal of individuals who would ultimately be deemed ineligible for protection because they may be able to achieve safety by relocating elsewhere in the country from which they fled,” a DHS news release said.
The Biden administration is dealing with the highest number of migrant encounters at the US-Mexico border in 20 yearsand has faced continued piercing criticism of its immigration policies from Republicans and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Republicans in Congress do passed the Restoration Act tough immigration policy from the Trump era, I came back bilateral agreement on border security, and more recently dismissed Mayorkas.
The public comment period for the Notice of Proposed Rule will be May 13 through June 12. A senior DHS official said the agency expects the proposed rule to be finalized this year and implemented quickly.
