Biden administration tightens asylum standards. How will it work?

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration proposed a rule Thursday aimed at speeding up the deportation process for migrants who are already ineligible for asylum.

The change isn't expected to have broad implications, but rather tighten existing rules. It comes as the White House and Democrats play offense on the border and immigration, one of the top issues ahead of the presidential election.

"The proposed rule we have published today is yet another step in our ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of the American public by more quickly identifying and removing those individuals who present a security risk and have no legal basis to remain here," said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. "We will continue to take action, but fundamentally it is only Congress that can fix what everyone agrees is a broken immigration system."

What would the new rule do?

Currently it can take years before migrants who cross the border without authorization are determined to be ineligible for asylum. The new rule would allow asylum officers to make that determination within days.

The rule would move up checks for bars to asylum, such as criminal history or terrorism links, to the initial stage of the process, allowing immigration officials to quickly reject and deport those who don't qualify. It is not expected to restrict more people from applying for asylum.

DHS said the number of migrants subject to the bars is small but did not offer concrete figures.

Migrants who intend to apply for asylum must first pass so-called credible fear interviews, which allows them to later make their case before an immigration judge. The regulation would allow asylum officers to check for public safety or national security risks during the credible fear screening.

Migrant rights advocates say the change could slow down and weaken the credible fear process, and would be difficult to implement without quickly hiring more asylum officers.

A senior DHS official who spoke to reporters Thursday on the condition that he not be named said the agency is updating procedures to ensure available information, including information that is classified, is shared as early as possible in the immigration process.

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