Trump admin proposal would make it harder for immigrants to claim asylum
https://news.yahoo.com/trump-admin-proposal-harder-immigrants-232743201.html
From link, excellent:
https://news.yahoo.com/trump-admin-proposal-harder-immigrants-232743201.html
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Wednesday unveiled a proposal that would make it harder for immigrants to claim asylum in the U.S., even after the COVID-19 pandemic.
If an immigrant does meet the standard for a hearing, the process will be “streamlined” under the new rules, rather than the full proceedings, which allow for a longer process. The proposed rules can be found by clicking here.
Immigration judges, unlike other judges who are part of the judicial branch of the government, are employees of the Justice Department and follow guidance set forth by the Attorney General.
Related: “This is a life or death situation,” said a translation of the message from 70 migrants at the La Palma ICE facility in Arizona, obtained by NBC News.
In a press release, the Justice Department said the new rules would allow the department “to more effectively separate baseless claims from meritorious ones.”
If enacted after a public comment period, the rule would allow immigration judges to throw out asylum cases before holding a hearing.
During the coronavirus pandemic, nearly all asylum hearings have been postponed. Existing policy, however, says that immigrants are given an asylum hearing if they can prove to an asylum officer that they have a reasonable fear of persecution or torture if they are returned to their home country. The new rule would allow immigration judges to throw out an asylum seeker’s case if they think there are flaws in the application.
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