Biden is running for presidential re-election. The news standards that the White House will announce represents a possible prelude to broader measures this year that would impose greater severity at the border.
The proposal affects migrants with criminal records or those who, based on other criteria, could be declared ineligible to receive asylum in the United States. The proposal, which the Department of Homeland Security plans to announce Thursday, was confirmed by four people familiar with its contents who were granted anonymity to detail plans that have not yet been made public.
Under current law, a migrant who arrives at the border and is subjected to an initial “credible fear” examination — one of the criteria on which asylum is based — can continue with the process even if he or she has a criminal record or represents a risk to national security. A judge would later determine whether that migrant qualifies for asylum.
The change
According to the people consulted, the change would allow, in the initial selection phase, an official to make that decision instead of waiting for a judge. These same sources also indicated that the proposal affects a relatively small universe of migrants and those who would not meet the criteria to receive asylum protection anyway.
And the fact is that the majority of migrants that the Biden administration has allowed to enter irregularly through the border resort to the figure of political asylum to be allowed entry even if they do not meet the criteria.
But despite those points, migrant advocates have previously raised doubts about any changes to the credible fear process, noting that migrants often do these interviews immediately after surviving journeys in which they risk their lives to reach To united states.
Therefore, the initial interviews are designed to have a relatively low level of demand, so that migrants are not unjustly deported, they allege. And they have questioned how much legal help migrants in custody can receive to prepare them for this key first step toward an asylum claim.
It will likely be months before Thursday’s proposal, which was first reported by Politico, actually goes into effect. Biden continues to consider broader executive actions at the border, the timing of which largely depends on whether the number of illegal border crossings, which has steadily declined since December, increases.
Millions continue to enter the US
More than 1.7 million migrant encounters are reported by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) during the first half of the current fiscal period (October to March), a trend that if continued would exceed 3.2 million migrants of the last fiscal year.
The figures are alarming. A total of 9,657,741 migrant encounters have been recorded by CBP since 2021 when President Joe Biden arrived at the White House. The border crisis has become a key issue for the November presidential elections in which everything indicates that Biden and Trump will face each other again in the presidential race.
The crisis hits large cities like New York, which have declared themselves unable to receive more migrants. The high costs of care fall on American taxpayers who will see services diminished because resources have been allocated to care for undocumented immigrants.
At least 10 states in the nation promote laws against undocumented immigration, with Texas and Florida leading the way.
Biden under pressure
The proposed rule also comes amid pressure from other Democrats and pro-immigrant activists to support immigrants already in the United States.
Janet Murguía, president of UnidosUS, a civil rights organization, said she met with Biden last week at the White House along with other Latino leaders to advocate for relief for migrants who do not have legal status but have been in United States.
“I think President Biden is open to this idea that he can do something. He has asked for more details,” indicated Murguía. “We are going to raise the issue at the White House. “We are going to raise the issue here at the Capitol, across the country, in every community.”
At a news conference Wednesday, far-left and Latino Democratic congressmen expressed frustration at the idea of the White House clamping down on the border without also helping migrants who crossed the border illegally as children.
Protection for those who have been in the US for years
“Mr. President, we know what is in your heart. Let us reject extremist messages that denigrate migrants. Let us embrace our values as a nation of migrants and provide relief to those who have long lived in the United States,” said Democratic Senator Alex Padilla of California.
Lawmakers are calling on the Biden administration to exempt spouses and other family members of U.S. citizens from deportation, and to expand temporary protected status, which allows people from countries ravaged by disasters and war to live and work. legally in the United States.
At the same time, Democrats, especially those from politically swing states, are encouraging the White House to take unilateral steps to curb illegal border crossings.
Protesters demand closure of the US border
AFP
In the Senate, Democrats are considering putting a set of border proposals to a vote to show that Republicans oppose faster enforcement. Republicans oppose the open border policy that Biden has promoted since he came to the White House, which has caused chaos at the border and has spread to cities.
And in the House of Representatives, 15 Democrats this week wrote a letter to the White House encouraging executive action. The issue of migration worries Democrats for the elections.
Source: With information from AP
