The rules allow asylum officers to deny or grant claims. This authority was previously limited to immigration judges who are responsible for those arriving at the Mexican border.
Asylum officers have done only initial screenings for asylum or other humanitarian relief for border arrivals.
Although the change could have a significant impact, officials from the administration said that they would start slowly and with no additional resources. It will be effective 60 days after it is published in Federal Register. This will happen next Monday.
Administration stated last year it would need 800 additional employees to help with 75,000 asylum cases per year. It is not clear how the move will impact first-time applicants without more money or new positions.
According to the U.N. refugee Agency, the United States is the most popular country for asylum-seekers worldwide since 2017. This has put enormous pressure on immigration courts. The court backlog is now nearly 1.7 million.
Alejandro Mayorkas from Homeland Security Secretary, who oversees U.S. asylum officers, stated that “the current system for processing asylum claims at our border has long required repair.” Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Merrick Garland, Attorney General, stated that the new procedures will reduce the burden on the Justice Department’s immigration courts. People who are not in detention can apply for asylum and the decision takes an average of almost four years.
Garland stated that “this rule advances our efforts for ensuring that asylum claims are processed fairly and expeditiously, consistent with due process”
Asylum officers are expected to resolve cases within 90 days under the new rules. The rejection letters will be sent to the immigration judges who are also expected to make decisions within 90 days.
Officials stated that judges will be able complete cases quicker if they have detailed documentation from asylum officers.
Aaron Reichlin–Melnick is the senior policy counsel at American Immigration Council. He stated that the new change will speed up the process of asylum seekers through immigration courts so fast that they won’t have time to obtain lawyers and will likely need to represent themselves.
He wrote that these timelines were “punishing, brutal and almost certainly will prevent the vast majority (of asylum seekers) going through this system” on Twitter.
These new procedures generated over 5,300 comments since they were first proposed in August. However, legal hurdles could be encountered. Many of the changes made to the immigration system by the Trump and Biden administrations were successfully challenged, delayed, or modified in court.
