Biden Administration Set To Pitch New Asylum Changes

The Biden administration will propose new changes to the asylum system on Thursday, four people familiar with the matter told POLITICO.

The forthcoming changes will address the stage at which migrants can be found ineligible to apply for and receive asylum. Under the current system, eligibility is determined based on a number of factors during the interview stage — the administration is set to propose applying these standards during the initial screening stage.

That change would effectively allow the U.S. to expedite the expulsion of migrants whom officials see as potentially ineligible to stay in the country due to national security or public safety risks, per all four people, who were granted anonymity to speak candidly about the administration’s plans. The Department of Homeland Security will announce the new policy via a proposed rule on Thursday.

The announcement is not slated to include several sweeping changes to migration policy that Biden administration officials have weighed, such as using 212F — a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act — to bar migrants from seeking asylum in between ports of entry. Those larger-scale changes are not expected to get proposed until June at the earliest, according to the four people.

President Joe Biden has faced pressure from the center and left of his party to go at it alone on the border after the collapse of a bipartisan Senate immigration plan earlier this year. A group of House Democrats, largely from battleground districts, wrote the president Tuesday calling for executive action to “immediately take further action to restore order at the Southern border and fix our broken immigration system."

“This is a problem that I believe there are levers that the administration could pull and we're encouraging the Biden administration to look at all of those since Republicans want to apparently complain about it and do nothing,” said Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) on Tuesday.

Progressives, however, have criticized the possible adoption of previously floated executive orders clamping down on immigration or restricting asylum. They’ve called for Biden to use his presidential power to protect undocumented people who have long resided in the United States.

“These enforcement-only actions make people feel good for about a half a second, but they don't actually do anything to fix the problem. It didn't work under [former President] Donald Trump when he tried to shut down the border,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) Wednesday.

Even the Senate GOP leader signaled support for Biden’s willingness to take executive action as the divided Congress remains unable to move ahead on immigration legislation.

“Obviously I’m not an adviser to the president,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday. “But if I were, I’d say you should do something to the maximum extent of your ability.”

Burgess Everett contributed to this report.