The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have formed a new rule for processing those seeking asylum. The rule creates the position of asylum officers in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), who would be able to decide whether or not an individual is eligible for asylum in America.
As it currently stands, immigration judges from the DOJ’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) are the only officials who decide asylum seekers’ eligibility. But according to a press release from DHS on March 24, the new rule would allow asylum officers to oversee asylum applications.
The change is meant to alleviate the overwhelming amount of cases awaiting a decision. The Hill reported some 500 immigration judges with approximately 1.7 million immigration cases in the court backlog.
The asylum process is expected to decrease from several years to several months with the new rule, allowing eligible migrants to secure relief more quickly.
According to the legal site AllLaw, U.S. law states that to be eligible for refugee protection or asylum, individuals need to prove they are seeking refuge due to persecution, such as discrimination, death threats, imprisonment, torture, or infliction of harm or suffering.
The basis for the persecution must be related to politics, race, nationality, religion, or membership in a social group. The threats do not need to come directly from their home country’s government.
Migrants who fear persecution in their home country who are on the verge of removal from the U.S. must pass a credible fear screening.
Individuals who present credible proof of fear for their safety will be given an initial interview with a USCIS asylum officer within 30 days. Individuals found ineligible for asylum can appeal the decision; their cases go to an immigration judge for a removal hearing within 7 days.
Asylum officers will interview eligible individuals for a second time within another 21 to 45 days. Following the meeting, the officers are given 60 days to make a final decision. If an individual fails the second interview, the judge has 90 days to decide the final ruling on whether they will be granted asylum or expedited back to their home country.
It is not currently clear where all asylum-seekers will await the results of their cases for entering the U.S.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said the rule would aid in ensuring that the claims are processed fairly and expeditiously.
“It will help reduce the burden on our immigration courts, protect the rights of those fleeing persecution and violence, and enable immigration judges to issue removal orders with appropriate,” Garland said.
Officials also hope that the changes within this system will help to prevent unlawful border crossings, such as by individuals seeking economic opportunities.
DHS’s Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas said the new approach will help to make the immigration system more efficient.
“The current system for handling asylum claims at our borders has long needed repair. Through this rule, we are building a more functional and sensible asylum system to ensure that individuals who are eligible will receive protection more swiftly, while those who are not eligible will be rapidly removed (from the U.S. and returned to their home country). We will process claims for asylum or other humanitarian protection in a timely and efficient manner while ensuring due process,” Mayorkas said.
However, some advocacy groups have expressed concern that speeding the process of immigration for those seeking asylum could result in unfair practices and leave room for mistakes.
The senior director for refugee protection at Human Rights First, Eleanor Acer, said, “Rushing asylum-seekers through ‘rocket docket’ adjudications without sufficient time to secure legal representation, gather evidence, or prepare their case submissions is inefficient and counterproductive.”
She proclaimed, “Imposing unrealistic deadlines will lead to mistaken decisions, additional adjudication to correct those mistakes, and the improper return to the persecution of people who qualify for asylum. The U.S. needs a fair and timely process that ensures accurate decisions that protect the lives of refugees.”
The approach to refugees and migrants is additionally complicated by Title 42, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) rule allowing for sanitary protections during the COVID-19 pandemic that allows potential migrants to be turned away at the border if they arrived from a country with an outbreak.
Title 42 is currently still in effect, but the CDC is set to decide on whether it will remain in place by March 30.
Immigration experts from the DHS estimate that 170,000 individuals will seek asylum at the Mexico border if Title 42 is lifted, possibly increasing unlawful border crossings, Daily Mail reported.
According to the Washington Examiner, taking away Title 42 means the possibility of more unlawful migrants in custody and seeking asylum. Additionally, because individuals expecting extradition under the new rule can choose to appeal the ruling regarding their asylum, their deportation hearings can lengthen the process.
Florida’s Republican Senator, Rick Scott, sent a letter to DHS with over twelve GOP senators’ signatures on March 24 opposing the potential removal of Title 42.
“This policy served as an effective deterrent to illegal border crossings by removing the prospect of an illegal alien permitted to remain in and move freely throughout the United States pending the outcome of immigration proceedings,” he said.
Scott continued, “This is a grave concern that threatens to overwhelm our already strained immigration system and will only exacerbate a disastrous situation at our southern border.”
The public can comment on the new system of implementing asylum officers until it goes into effect, which occurs 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
The USCIS is funded by fees from applicants, but the funding was disrupted by the Trump administration’s redirecting of resources and the COVID-19 pandemic. The Biden administration added $200 million to USCIS’s budget for 2022.
Some of the budget will likely fund the hiring of around 800 new employees as asylum officers to support the new process.
According to CBS News, the new system, in which asylum officers shoulder some of the immigration judges’ workload, will roll out in phases. The small, initial phase is expected to start in late spring.
