By Darius Amiri, Rose Law Group Immigration Dept. Chair | Rose Law Group Reporter
Today the Biden Administration announced an executive order that aims to have a severe impact on asylum related border crossings.
The order will give the President power to turn away migrants and would be asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border when the seven day average of border crossings exceeds 2,500 between all ports of entry. Given the current high volume of crossings, the order would go into effect immediately.
The effect of the executive order on asylum seekers will be to halt the conducting of credible fear interviews which are used to vet legitimate asylum claims, and instead give border authorities power to expel foreign nationals who have crossed between legal ports of entry under a process known as expedited removal, the legal effect of which would be a five year bar on re-entry to the United States and the potential for criminal prosecution if they decide to return and attempt to cross again in the same fashion.
Immigration proponents will decry this move by the Biden administration as harsh and potentially unconstitutional, while administration officials will claim this was a necessary response to inaction by Congress, specifically after a bipartisan border deal was killed by Senate Republicans. Ultimately, the Biden administration wants to appear stronger on border policy which has been a constant drag in its polling numbers, but unfortunately the practical effect of this order will be to undercut many viable and credible asylum claims from those who would seek refuge in this country.
