US to reject asylum claims faster under newly proposed regulation

The Biden administration has proposed a new rule which it says will streamline asylum processing at the southern border. The Thursday (May 9) proposal seeks to deny certain migrants deemed to "pose a national security or public safety risk".

Rejection at get-go

As per reports, the proposed rules would allow immigration officials to reject and deport at an early stage violent asylum seekers who are already ineligible for asylum. This, as per the Biden administration officials, would help enhance national security and save taxpayer dollars.

The Guardian reports that the rule would target migrants "convicted of a particularly serious crime," or who have "participated in the persecution of others."

Additionally, it will also target migrants who are deemed a danger to the security of the United States on reasonable grounds or those inadmissible on "terrorism-related grounds," said a memo distributed by the Department of Homeland Security.

Were these people allowed into the US earlier?

No. Federal law already bars asylum migrants who are believed to pose a threat to national security or public safety. However, with the new rule, asylum officers would be empowered to consider their ineligibility during initial screening due to "credible fear".

"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," said the secretary of homeland security Alejandro Mayorkas.

"We will continue to take action, but fundamentally it is only Congress that can fix what everyone agrees is a broken immigration system," he added in a statement.

The rules are set to be issued as a proposed regulation and will be finalised at a later date, reported Reuters citing an officer. The report added that the Biden administration had considered using more restrictive Trump-era restrictions to block asylum seekers.

Expected to be issued this week, the regulation would potentially pave the way for thousands of people to be quickly deported from the US each year.

(With inputs from agencies)