 "Joe Biden,Biden")
US President Biden announced on Tuesday an executive order blocking asylum at the southern border, marking a major shift in how the United States (US) has traditionally handled claims for protection.
The suspension of long-standing guarantees allowing anyone who steps onto US soil to seek asylum aims to deter illegal border crossings. This issue has significantly impacted Biden’s political standing as he approaches the November presidential election.
Here is how it will work.
What does the order say?
The order suspends the entry of migrants who cross the southern border illegally, effective from 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, unless challenged legally.
The suspension will be lifted if the government certifies that fewer than 1,500 people a day on average crossed the border over a week. It will be re-imposed if the numbers exceed 2,500 daily, on average, within a week.
On Monday, approximately 3,500 people crossed without authorisation, consistent with recent trends, according to the ‘New York Times’ (NYT). Thus, numbers must drop significantly for the suspension to end.
Biden said that despite a recent decline from historic highs, border crossing numbers still exceed the government’s “capacity.” The order also urged Congress to update immigration laws.
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“The current situation is also the direct result of Congress’s failure to update an immigration and asylum system that is simply broken and not equipped to meet current needs,” the proclamation said.
Implications for migrants seeking asylum
Previously, migrants detained at the border were generally asked if they feared harm upon returning to their home country. Many expressed fear and, after initial screening, were allowed to stay in the country while awaiting a hearing on their claim, sometimes for years.
Under the new order, many migrants could be turned back more readily.
Migrants claiming fear of return must now voluntarily assert such claims without being asked, a practice known as the “shout test.” They will also have to use programmes other than asylum, which have much stricter requirements and are often inaccessible to most applicants.
Immigration advocates argue these changes amount to a near suspension of the asylum system for border crossers.
“The Biden administration is eliminating key protections to prevent refugees from being returned to harm through the imposition of this ‘shout test,’” said Robyn Barnard, a lawyer at Human Rights First. “It will be a recipe for disaster and certainly result in refugees being sent to danger or worse, death," he added.
The Biden administration will depend on Mexico to promptly take back its nationals. Migrants from other countries may be briefly detained while transportation is arranged. Deporting individuals to certain countries, such as China, will remain challenging.
The US Department of Homeland Security aims to detain those requesting protection rather than release them into the country. However, resources will be strained by the detentions and the need for asylum officers to process the migrants, potentially allowing some to enter the country during surges.
Potential legal challenges
The American Civil Liberties Union has announced plans to sue to stop the measure, but the outcome is uncertain.
In 2018, a federal court in San Francisco blocked the Trump administration from enacting similar asylum limits. An appeals court and the Supreme Court upheld the judge’s order.
The same judge, Jon S. Tigar, who blocked the Trump measure, has also halted other Biden asylum restrictions issued early last year. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit allowed that measure, which restricted asylum for those crossing through a third country en route to the southern border, to remain during the legal challenge.
Exceptions to the order
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the asylum restrictions do not apply to unaccompanied immigrant children, victims of human trafficking, individuals with visas, or those facing serious medical emergencies or threats to their lives.
