The Government presents its new asylum application system to approve (and reject) immigrants faster

By Ben Fox - The Associated Press

The Government of Joe Biden presented this Wednesday a reform of the system for managing asylum applications, with the aim of reducing the significant delay accumulated by the files processed at the border of Mexico and that has left thousands of people waiting years to find out if they can stay in the United States.

Under the plan, ordinary asylum cases will no longer be automatically referred to the collapsed immigration system run by the Department of Justice, but will instead be overseen by asylum officials from Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), that are part of the Department of Homeland Security.

A Border Patrol agent detains a migrant family from Brazil near Yuma, Arizona, on June 10, 2021.

Advocates for change see it as a way to help those with legitimate requests for protection, while allowing officials to more quickly deal with people who do not qualify for asylum or take advantage of the long delay to stay. in United States.

"People who meet the necessary requirements will receive help more quickly, while those who will not be expelled expeditiously," declared the Secretary of National Security, Alejandro Mayorkas.

[The Biden Administration decides not to annul for now the rule that restricts the right to asylum at the border due to the worsening of the pandemic]

The proposal must now go through a public comment period, before it can be adopted as new policy.

The immigration court system suffers a historical delay of about 1.3 million cases.

The government of former President Donald Trump imposed stricter criteria for asylum and forced immigrants to seek protection in Mexico and Central America. 

Unaccompanied migrant minors will be exempt from the prohibition of seeking asylum at the border

July 17, 202100: 23

The reason for Biden's change is that the number of people seeking asylum under US law has increased in recent years, especially on the US-Mexico border.

As the system now works, people who report to the border or are detained by the Border Patrol and identify themselves as asylum seekers must pass what is known as a credible fear interview.

A USCIS asylum officer determines whether they meet the criteria for someone facing persecution in their country on the basis of race, religion, national origin, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.

[The Biden government admits the entry of more families seeking asylum at the border on humanitarian grounds]

Even if approved, your case is later transferred to an immigration judge and it can take years to reach a resolution.

The theory behind the proposed change is that USCIS 'experienced asylum officials can classify cases more quickly.

People who are denied asylum can appeal and have their case decided in immigration court.

Proponents of the new policy believe that some people with weak claims will be deterred from trying by early denial.

The Department of Homeland Security plans to hire 1,000 asylum officers and 1,000 support employees to cope with the additional workload that the change will bring.

This is how this refuge in Tijuana is for Mexicans displaced by violence who are awaiting asylum in the United States.

July 12, 202101: 48

Doris Meissner, a former Immigration and Naturalization Service commissioner (which preceded USCIS), had previously called for this change to be adopted, claiming in a recent Immigration Policy Institute opinion piece that it would be "potentially a game changer" balancing humanitarian protection. for those eligible with the need to control the border.

"The surge in arrivals at the US-Mexico border, which is the latest in a series of periodic spikes, makes this shift even more compelling," wrote Meissner, now a fellow at the institute.

The percentage of asylum granted varies greatly depending on the country of origin and the circumstances of the person. Applicants from Honduras received protection 10% of the time, while the rate for people from China was 37%, according to the most recent statistics from the Executive Office for Immigration Review.