The Biden administration was sued by a coalition of Republican states over a controversial rule that would expedite asylum claims at the southern border, the latest in a slew of legal challenges by Republican states over the administration’s immigration policies.
Led by Arizona, Missouri and Louisiana, the lawsuit by 14 states, seeks to block a rule, which is set to go into effect in May, that would allow U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officers, rather than immigration judges to hear asylum cases for migrants placed in expedited removal.
“That Rule eviscerates crucial safeguards to our nation’s immigration system and flouts clear statutory commands enacted by Congress. It makes it substantially easier for unauthorized economic migrants to enter the United States and obtain asylum through false claims,” the states say, per a report.
This means that those migrants who claim they have a credible fear of being returned to their home country would have an interview with a USCIS officer who would determine whether they be granted asylum or referred to a judge for removal proceedings, which would also be streamlined, DHS said. They would be paroled into the U.S., which is allowed only for “urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit” for that process.
It could shorten asylum cases from over five years currently to just months, the Biden administration said, which it claims would also allow for migrants to be removed quicker if they are found not to have a valid claim. But there is also a warning by critics that it will encourage more migrants to the border and that it will result in a more lax system where bogus asylum claims are green lit.
“The current system for handling asylum claims at our borders has long needed repair. 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. We will process claims for asylum or other humanitarian protection in a timely and efficient manner while ensuring due process,” Mayorkas said in a statement in March.