Biden weighs reviving Trump-era immigration restrictions, officers say By Reuters

By Ted Hesson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration would make it tougher to hunt asylum on the U.S.-Mexico border beneath a number of plans being thought-about that bear similarities to insurance policies pushed by former President Donald Trump.

Two Division of Homeland Safety officers and an individual aware of the matter mentioned the administration is discussing a fast-track regulation to disclaim asylum to single grownup migrants if they don’t first search safety in different nations.

The sources mentioned that they had not seen a duplicate of the proposed regulation so couldn’t present additional particulars.

Since Biden took workplace in January 2021, his administration has struggled each operationally and politically with document numbers of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.

U.S. border authorities made 2.2 million migrant arrests on the border within the fiscal yr 2022 ending on Sept. 30, though lots of these included repeat crossers.

One other U.S. official mentioned the Biden administration can be contemplating different Trump-era deterrents that embrace having Border Patrol brokers conduct accelerated asylum screenings.

One other risk was to extend a apply generally known as “metering,” which limits the variety of migrants who can method a port of entry to hunt asylum, this official mentioned.

A DHS spokesperson mentioned on Friday no selections had been made to make modifications in coverage.

Biden, a Democrat, defeated Trump, a Republican, in a 2020 presidential election promising to undo his predecessor’s hardline immigration insurance policies and “reassert America’s dedication to asylum-seekers and refugees.”

The insurance policies into account, if adopted, would sharply backtrack on these pledges and have already drawn concern from immigration advocates. Comparable Trump insurance policies have been challenged in court docket and overturned.

To be granted U.S. asylum, migrants who enter the nation should present they search safety from persecution elsewhere primarily based on their race, faith, nationality, political views or membership in a specific social group.

Axios first reported the discussions round a brand new asylum ban earlier this week. The opposite measures into account haven’t been beforehand reported.

After the Axios story, a Biden official mentioned in an announcement the USA would search to speed up asylum processing occasions, break up smuggling networks preying on migrants and work with others within the area to handle the movement of migrants.

Republicans, who take management of the U.S. Home of Representatives in January, have assailed Biden’s dealing with of the border and threatened to question his high border official, Homeland Safety Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Final month a U.S. federal choose invalidated a COVID-19 period border order generally known as Title 42. Applied in March 2020 beneath Trump, it allowed authorities to quickly expel migrants caught crossing the border with out giving them an opportunity to hunt asylum.

The choose delayed the efficient date of the ruling till Dec. 21 to offer border authorities time to organize. Per week later, a coalition of states with Republican attorneys normal launched a authorized problem searching for to reverse the choice.

The administration is making ready for the potential for 9,000-14,000 migrants per day making an attempt to cross the border if Title 42 is lifted, one of many DHS officers instructed Reuters, about double the current every day fee.