The Biden administration is moving expeditiously to get through the claims of asylum-seekers along the U.S.-Canada border at a much faster rate as the number of arrests of illegal border crossers reaches new highs.
The Department of Homeland Security plans to speed up the asylum-seeking process for migrants apprehended by Border Patrol agents on the northern border, according to a CBS News report Tuesday.
The move is intended to get people through the process faster to reduce time in custody, particularly as the number of arrests has surged over the past year and affected Border Patrol’s ability to detain migrants.
The number of migrants arrested by the Border Patrol across the U.S.-Canada border has soared from fewer than 1,000 in fiscal 2021 to more than 16,000 in fiscal 2024, which does not include the final three months of the year, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Historic norms were in the middle of the 2021 and 2024 figures.
The U.S. plans to amend how it carries out the 2002 Safe Third Country Agreement with Canada. The deal was updated last year and allows either country to return persons who illegally enter to the other country on the basis that both nations are adequate for seeking asylum and if a person has not sought refuge in one, he or she cannot do so in the other.
Until now, migrants intercepted by Border Patrol on the northern border had been allowed to delay asylum screenings with federal officers so that they had time to gather documents and proof to support their claims.
Starting Wednesday, migrants will no longer be able to postpone the asylum screening — with exceptions for children who arrive without a parent or guardian and migrants who already have a family member in the U.S.
Second, migrants will no longer have a 24-hour period to consult with a lawyer before an asylum screening. Migrants in custody will have four hours to get legal advice. Both changes will be implemented on Wednesday.
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“DHS carefully reviewed its implementation of the Safe Third Country Agreement with Canada and concluded that it could streamline that process at the border without impacting noncitizens’ ability to have access to a full and fair procedure for determining a claim to asylum or equivalent temporary protection,” the department said in a statement to CBS News.
The DHS did not respond to a request for comment.