Biden studies reducing the number of migrants entitled to asylum at the border and opening new avenues for others

By Julia Ainsley and Jacob Soboroff —

The Joe Biden government is consolidating proposals to drastically reduce the number of immigrants who could request asylum at the border with Mexico, while opening new but narrow avenues to process it from their countries of origin, according to four sources familiar with the plan. the NBC News network.

Among the proposals being studied in depth are programs for

to apply for a humanitarian permit from their countries, three sources said, similar to the program launched in the fall for Venezuelans who can show they would be sponsored in the US. ., whose implementation coincided with the denial of entry of the majority of migrants from that country who arrived at the border.

The Department of Homeland Security also plans to offer training to asylum officers who interview migrants at the border.

They will be instructed to allow their entry if they meet the requirements of the International Convention against Torture, a much higher bar than has been required up to now to offer asylum.

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Those who cannot show they are likely to face torture if returned to their home countries would have to prove they first applied for asylum and were denied it in a country they passed through on their way to the US border, four said. sources familiar with these plans.

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That model, which was advanced by The New York Times, is commonly called a "traffic ban" and was first activated in 2019 by former President Donald Trump.

When asked during an interview with NBC News on Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas did not deny that the traffic ban was under consideration.

“You would have to see what it specifically proposes to understand what it envisions and what it doesn't.

Let me just say this, I believe deeply, as does this Administration, in our asylum system.

It is one of our crown jewels and we will continue to defend it,” he said.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesman said nothing has been decided yet, and the White House did not respond to questions.

The Administration held at least six meetings on the subject over the weekend, both at the Department and White House levels, according to two official sources.

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The net effect of the plan being studied would be a drastic reduction in the number of immigrants allowed to enter the United States to apply for asylum, and an increase in the number who are returned to Mexico or deported to their countries of origin.

The details of the plan can still be worked out, but the Biden government faces a court-imposed deadline of December 21 to lift Title 42. Since the restrictions of this rule began to apply in March 2020, more than 2.4 million asylum seekers have been returned to Mexico.

If Title 42 is lifted, the Government anticipates that the number of migrants crossing the border could increase by up to 2,500 per day. 

Three officials familiar with these plans said the government is in talks with Mexico about the number of migrants the United States will be able to send back across the border with Mexico, even after Title 42 is lifted.

Asylum advocacy groups and former and current Biden Administration officials have taken issue with the plans, saying they go too far in disrupting asylum pathways and do not do enough to safely house qualified applicants in a ordered processing system.

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“They are playing dangerously with the machinery of the Trump Administration.

That policy was functionally a removal of access to asylum at the southern border for most asylum seekers,” said Greg Chen, director of government relations for the Immigration Lawyers Association.

Chen said opening up new legal avenues is unlikely to make up for the number of asylum seekers who will be denied entry.

“I cannot imagine what they could legally do with their current authority that would substantially guarantee access to humanitarian protection and relief,” he explained.

An administration official who has argued against the plan told NBC News the White House should be securing money to deal with the large movement of migrants through the hemisphere rather than simply blocking their path. 

“This is not a surge;

it's a new reality,” she said.

A former Biden administration official called the new plans an unnecessary overreaction after Democrats retained control of the Senate despite immigration being a key issue in the midterm elections.

"I don't see the political calculus here," he said, "the Republicans are not going to give them credit for doing this."