Biden Administration Prepares Sweeping Change to Asylum Process
Posted by Emma Lombardo. Colgate class of 2022.
Source: Sullivan, Eileen. “Biden Administration Prepares Sweeping Change to Asylum Process.” The New York Times, 24 Mar. 2022.
Under the Biden administration’s new policy, immigrants seeking asylum in the United States will be able to have their claims evaluated by asylum officers instead of immigration judges. With more than 670,000 cases pending, this plan will take the burden off of backlogged immigration courts, as well as greatly shorten the process. The new process is aimed to take a total of six months, as opposed to the previous average of five years. Asylum seekers could also be released on parole as they go through this process.
“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,” stated Alejandro N. Mayorkas, homeland security secretary.
This policy would have greatly aided the Flores twins’ immigration process to the United States in the book The Far Away Brothers by Lauren Markham. After escaping gang violence in El Salvador and making the dangerous journey across the Rio Grande and Texan desert, they find themselves at the hands of immigration authorities. The twins were placed in detention centers for weeks, and then forced to face immigration court. This process was grueling, time-consuming, and expensive. Simultaneously, the boys are thrusted into American life. They have to pay off their debts while attending school, getting good grades, and learning English. This policy change would have significantly eased the Flores twins’ immigration process, allowing them to settle down and assimilate more seamlessly.
The change comes at a critical time, as the United States is seeing record high numbers of immigrants crossing the border. Since asylum cases make up about 40% of the 1.7 million case backlog, an expedited process for asylum seekers will considerably reduce the pressure currently placed upon the immigration system. Having a more seamless asylum system will not only be a win for refugees, but also for the United States: the faster immigrants integrate into the labor force, the faster they will be able to become productive members of the country’s economy.
3 thoughts on “Biden Administration Prepares Sweeping Change to Asylum Process”
This is such an important policy change, and I found the class connections so interesting. It is a substantial change for asylum seekers to undergo a process of six months as opposed to five years. The conditions of detainment centers are usually far adequate living centers and put increasing stress on individuals who are already undergoing extreme hardship. This is an important shift in policy and contributes a small step to the broader, urgent needs of immigration reform. I really appreciate using the Flores twins’ situation to illuminate the perspective of asylum seekers, and how they would have been better supported given the opportunity. It will be fascinating to see the implications of this and the fiscal cost reduction in reducing detainment numbers and individuals then contributing to the economy. Great post, Emma!
This seems like a great change being made as stated to greatly benefit refugees but also other immigrants as it helps with the back log. Having read about the Flores twins, I thought it was great that you explained how their process would have been easier and less stressful under the new policy. This connection helped to stress the importance of needing policy such as this.
Your focus on the personal aspect of these immigrants’ experience make this policy really powerful and important. It will definitely be interesting to examine how efficient the immigration system actually is once these policies are in place.