Biden has adopted a new plan regarding asylum applicants at the US southern border. DHS said that:
Under the proposed rule, individuals who circumvent available, established pathways to lawful migration – including those new processes announced on January 5 as well as a newly-available mechanism for migrants from any nationality to schedule a time and place to arrive at a port of entry – and also fail to seek protection in a country through which they traveled on their way to the United States, would be subject to a rebuttable presumption of asylum ineligibility in the United States unless they meet specified exceptions. Individuals who cannot establish a valid claim to protection under the standards set out in the proposed rule will be subject to prompt removal under Title 8 authorities, which carries a five-year bar to reentry. The proposed rule will be open to public comment in the Federal Register for 30 days.
The proposed rule is blatantly illegal and in direct contradiction to the federal statute allowing anyone to apply for asylum regardless of manner of entry (found at 8 USC 1158). I have great doubts regarding its ability to survive the courts. That law states:
“Any alien who is physically present in the United States or who arrives in the United States (whether or not at a designated port of arrival . . .irrespective of such alien’s status, may apply for asylum in accordance with this section or, where applicable, section 1225(b) of this title.”
Sadly, Biden has adopted the same plan regarding asylum arrivals as Trump. Biden even attacked Trump for this very same policy while on the campaign trail. Perhaps Biden does not have another plan? For example, has he tried increasing the number of USCIS officers, judges, government attorneys, and private attorneys that are handling and processing asylum cases? Did his immigration think tank really believe it was simpler to just have one rule that simply bars asylum seekers at the southern border?
All that said, for those who are thinking about coming to the United States without a visa and intending to apply for asylum at the southern border, you have to know that if this proposed rule goes into effect before you get here, the US will bar your entry and will deport you. If you do arrive in the US, it is essential that you apply for asylum within one year of your date of arrival to the United States. If you do not do it, you can lose your right to apply for asylum in the United States even if you have a legitimate case to make for asylum.
If you have questions regarding asylum or other immigration issues, be sure to give a call today to the attorneys at Kuck Baxter–Leaders in Immigration.
