U.S. to start asylum overhaul plan in the late spring
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/immigration-asylum-us-overhaul-late-spring/
The
U.S. has finalized regulations it hopes will overhaul the asylum process along the southern border, the Biden administration announced Thursday, though federal officials said the plan will be initially implemented on a small scale beginning in the late spring.
President Biden's appointees have argued the long-awaited rule will accelerate the government's ability to give refuge to asylum-seekers fleeing persecution while deporting those deemed ineligible for U.S. protection. Officials hope the changes discourage migrants who do not qualify for asylum but are looking for better economic opportunities from crossing the border illegally.
A key operational change will be the authorization of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) asylum officers to approve or deny requests for U.S. refuge from migrants who pass initial interviews, as opposed to transferring those claims to the nation's immigration courts, which have a backlog of over 1.7 million cases.
SNIP
"
The current system for handling asylum claims at our borders has long needed repair," DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. "Through this rule, we are building a more functional and sensible asylum system to ensure that individuals who are eligible will receive protection more swiftly, while those who are not eligible will be rapidly removed."
Administration officials said they expect the
overhaul to start in late May or early June, but noted that agencies are still discussing where along the southern border the plan will debut and which migrants will be initially processed under the new procedures.
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The Overhaul is a long time coming.
The issues have been passed along & complicated by layers of red tape & stacks of band-aid policy fixes.
This is a serious approach that is finally being addressed with simplifying of procedures & untangling decades of issues.