On May 9, 2024 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a proposal as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to enhance border security and deliver more timely consequences for those who do not have a legal status in the United States.
This new proposal, a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), will enable the application of statutory bars to asylum earlier in the process. It will also allow DHS to quickly remove individuals who are subject to these bars and pose a risk to national security or public safety.
In these cases, federal law bars individuals from asylum and withholding of removal if they pose a risk to national security or public safety. This includes those who have been convicted of a serious crime, participated in the persecution of others, are inadmissible on national security grounds, or are deemed a danger to the security of the United States.
The “asylum eligibility determination is made until later in the process at the merits adjudication stage of the asylum and withholding of removal claims,” according to DHS.
This new proposal will allow Asylum Officers to consider these bars to asylum within days of the initial encounter with an individual. This will allow DHS to effectively remove individuals who pose a threat to the United States much sooner than what is currently the case.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas spoke on the matter briefly,
“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.”
Not only that, DHS is updating its policy and procedures in regards to the use of classified information in immigration proceedings. This clarifies the situations in which classified information should be used in immigration proceedings, where DHS will continue to screen individuals prior to entry into the United States.
The Department also continues to enforce the Circumvention of Lawful Pathways (CLP) rule, which incentivizes the use of orderly processes and imposes quicker consequences for those without a legal basis to remain in the United States. On May 9, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) revised guidance to Asylum Officers to consider internal relocation of asylum seekers to another part of the country within reason.
The CLP rule will ensure early identification and removal of individuals who would be ineligible for protection due to their ability to remain safe by relocating elsewhere in the country from where they fled.
The Biden-Harris Administration has taken multiple actions to address migration challenges regarding the border and the United States as a whole, while overseeing an expansion of lawful pathways. These efforts, along with the support of partner countries in the region and worldwide, have made a significant impact.
From May 12, 2023, through May 1, 2024, DHS has removed or returned more than 720,000 individuals, exceeding the removals and returns in any full fiscal year since 2011. With necessary reforms and resources, this new proposal will effectively process all individuals encountered at the border, ensuring national and public security, as stated by the Department of Homeland Security.
Isabella Kim | Immigration CorrespondentIsabella Kim is an International Studies and Spanish undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin – Madison! As a first generation Asian American, immigration and topics related to it resonate deeply with her. She is half Hmong, half Korean. Being a part of the Hmong immigrant community, a greatly underrepresented population, she aspires to be a voice for others about their journeys of immigration. With current affairs regarding immigration in America specifically for the Latino community, she seeks to express the raw stories and realities that need to be heard and told. With plans to enter immigration law post undergraduate degree, she is also interested in researching law policies pertaining to immigration and helping others understand the implications of these policies. This is crucial in understanding why and how these laws affect certain communities and/or individuals. She would like to write stories about immigration law policies but also any personal stories of immigrants, whether they are a part of the Latino or outside of the Latino community. These are important to her as personal stories will allow individuals to relate or learn more about the realities of being an immigrant. Hearing her grandparents’ and parents’ stories has shown her how privileged she is to receive the opportunities she has. She always preaches that “you learn something new everyday”, and hopes to implement this through her stories during her time as a correspondent at Latina Republic.
