President Biden’s administration will soon issue regulations to tighten broad asylum restrictions it enacted at the southern border in the summer, two U.S. officials told CBS News, with the changes lifting stricter rules. He explained that the chances of this happening are quite low. In the near future.
In June, Biden issued a declaration Suspend entry of most immigrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice implemented his directive by enacting rules that effectively halted asylum processing between official border entry points. Illegal border crossings fell to their lowest level in four years after the strict measures came into force.
The government is expected to announce regulatory changes as early as Monday to implement the revised declaration, according to U.S. officials who requested anonymity to discuss internal government planning.
The planned changes would make it much harder for authorities to fine-tune and lift the criteria for lifting partial asylum bans. The current order states that the measure would expire if the seven-day average of illegal border crossings per day falls below 1,500 people. (According to federal data, the last time the average daily illegal border crossings was below 1,500 people per month was in the summer of 2020, when the pandemic curtailed immigration.)
But under the latest changes, asylum restrictions will only be lifted if the seven-day average remains below 1,500 people for 28 days. Also, more immigrants will be included in the calculation of deactivation triggers. Crossings by unaccompanied non-Mexican children are currently excluded. The updated calculation includes all unaccompanied children.
Taken together, the planned updates are likely to ensure that Mr. Biden’s move to sharply restrict asylum remains in place during the campaign and beyond for the foreseeable future. CBS News first reported The administration was considering these changes earlier this month.
Katie McTiernan/Anadolu, via Getty Images
In a statement to CBS News, DHS spokeswoman Nally Ketudat said the department “cannot comment on the content of regulations that have not yet been finalized or published.” White House Press Secretary Angelo Fernández Hernández did not discuss any upcoming changes, but said Mr. Biden’s “decisive” actions in June were working.
“July and August had the lowest encounter rates since September 2020,” Fernandez-Hernandez said. “While the Biden-Harris Administration has taken effective action, Republican officials continue to show they are more interested in cynical political games than securing our border.”
“Unfortunately, the administration has continued to tighten clearly illegal rules that are putting people at grave risk,” Lee Geraint, an ACLU attorney leading the lawsuit against President Biden’s asylum restrictions, told CBS News. “And, hopefully, our lawsuit will prevent it from happening in court.” ”
Illegal border crossings had declined in early 2024, largely due to stepped-up efforts by the Mexican government to deter U.S.-bound migrants, but after Biden’s proclamation went into effect in early June, There was a sharp decline from then on. Since then, migrant arrivals have peaked in August and September.
border politics
Immigration has become a major political headache for the Biden administration and Democrats. Migrant encounters at the southern border surged to record levels in 2021, 2022, and 2023, creating images of chaos, straining resources in some major cities, and upending immigration policy. . Recent polls show growing support among Americans for tougher immigration policies, including mass deportations promised by former President Donald Trump.
In recent months, Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris, have sought to change that by embracing tougher immigration measures, including a bipartisan border security deal. collapsed in parliament After President Trump urged Republicans to reject it. The bill would have established permanent limits on asylum and elevated the status of border patrol agents, asylum judges, and immigration judges.
Harris will travel to Douglas, Arizona, on Friday, making her first visit to the southern border since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee.
The asylum restrictions enacted in June marked a significant political and policy shift by the Biden administration, which took office in 2021 promising to expand access to the U.S. asylum system.
The measure relies on the same legal authority that the Trump administration has invoked to justify some immigration restrictions, meaning most migrants who cross the southern border illegally are not eligible for asylum. . It also eliminated a long-standing requirement that Border Patrol agents ask immigrants if they pose a risk of harm before deporting them.
Biden administration officials have argued that their border approach differs from the Trump administration’s, including efforts to allow Americans to sponsor four Latin American and Caribbean nationals. This is because it combines asylum slots with a new program that allows people to enter the United States. countries.
The administration’s actions are under intense scrutiny from both sides. The American Civil Liberties Union and other immigrant advocacy groups are asking a federal court to rule out the asylum crackdown as illegal, saying it tramples on the rights of desperate asylum seekers. Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers say Biden has taken too long to use executive authority to crack down on border crossings.
Cardinal Theresa Brown, who served as U.S. immigration official under Presidents Barack Obama and George W. This reflects the recognition that some changes are needed in the asylum system.” It’s manageable. ”
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