WASHINGTON— Dozens of legislators democrats They called on the government Tuesday to end expedited interviews of asylum seekers apprehended by Border Patrol, which they consider a “hasty practice” that deprives them of access to legal counsel.
In April, a group of Democratic congressmen introduced a bill that would establish the right to a federally funded lawyer for migrants who face deportation and lack the resources for legal representation.
Migrants flee their countries for economic reasons and violence. Many of those who arrive at the border request asylum.
“The removal of immigrants has life-altering consequences, but because they are civil (and not criminal) in nature, people currently do not have the right to a lawyer” ex officio, lamented Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, one of the promoters. of the measure, without mentioning the payment for such services.
When the government of President Joe Biden was set to begin expedited interviews at Border Patrol holding locations in April, authorities promised applicants would have access to legal counsel. So far, that promise has not been fulfilled.
Activist lawyers estimate that a hundred migrants received formal representation in the first three months of application of the rule, and a few hundred more have received informal advice through telephone calls before expedited interviews. This is just a small fraction of the thousands of interviews since the beginning of April, although authorities have not released a precise count.
The letter to the departments of Homeland Security and Justice, signed by 13 senators and 53 members of the lower house, says that conducting the “credible fear” interviews just 24 hours after arriving at the place of detention, was “essentially problematic”, especially without access to counselling.
“Giving people a fair resolution – which includes enough time to obtain evidence, prepare arguments and work with a lawyer – is crucial, particularly for people fleeing threats to their lives or torture,” they state in the letter.
Among the signatories are the president of the Senate Judicial Subcommittee for Immigration, Alex Padilla; the president of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Menendez, and the president of the Hispanic Bloc of Congress, Nanette Barragán.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The government increased expedited interviews by ending pandemic-related asylum restrictions, the so-called Title 42 authorization, and imposed new rules that make it more difficult for people who have not filed outside the United States or applied for protection in the United States to apply for asylum. the countries they pass through before reaching the border.
The proportion of people who passed asylum interviews fell to 60% in the first half of July, when the expedited process was ramped up, compared to 77% in the second half of March, when it began.
Immigrant activists have criticized the administration because they say the new rules disregard the obligations to grant asylum under US and international law.
The Biden administration issued an advisory warning that most people caught crossing the border will not be eligible for asylum and will likely be returned.
Penalties for most trespassers are: a five-year entry ban and possible criminal penalties.
For their part, those who support the restrictions criticize the authorities for their excessive “generosity” through the online shift system, which admits up to 1,450 people per day and humanitarian permission for up to 30,000 people per month arriving from Cuba, Haiti , Nicaragua and Venezuela.
FOUNTAIN: With information from AFP
