The Biden administration announced Tuesday changes to the way asylum claims will be treated at the U.S. border, including steps to process cases more quickly, as the number of people encountered at the southwest border continues to spike this summer.

What You Need To Know

  • The Biden administration announced Tuesday changes to the way asylum claims will be treated at the U.S. border, including steps to process cases more quickly

  • A key change is that U.S. asylum officers will now be able to make decisions on cases without sending them to a immigration courts

  • But the administration has also told migrants not to come to the U.S. right now, and the planned changes also include improvements to the expedited removal process, which often results in deportation

  • The majority of people who attempt to cross the border — mostly adults and families — are still turned away under a pandemic health order

In a new plan released Tuesday morning, the administration laid out their blueprint for what they call a ‘fair, orderly and humane’ immigration process, after more than 188,000 migrants reached the border in June, another record month.

A key change is that U.S. asylum officers will now be able to make decisions on cases without sending them to a immigration courts, which currently have a backlog of about 1.3 million. If a case is sent to court, it will get priority within a special docket, according to the administration’s plan.

People who claim asylum will also get legal representation via pro bono services, which the president has requested $15 million for in his 2022 budget.

But the changes would also include improvements to the expedited removal process — which often results in deportation — and a warning that those who do not qualify for asylum “will be promptly removed to their countries of origin.”

Some viewed the asylum plans as a way to reduce immigration court backlogs and ensure asylum cases are heard, while some advocates cautioned it could infringe on migrants’ right to due process if not executed correctly.

The Department of Homeland Security had also announced Monday evening that they would speed up deportations for families who reach the border and don’t qualify to be expelled under the pandemic health order known as Title 42.

“The processing of migrants for expedited removal is a traditionally-employed, lawful means to secure a border,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday. “Of course, individuals who are applying for asylum — who warrant asylum — will be treated accordingly.”

The majority of people who attempt to cross the border — mostly adults and families — are still turned away under Title 42, while unaccompanied minors are the exception and allowed entry into the U.S.

President Joe Biden reiterated last week the administration’s message that Central American migrants “should not come” to the U.S., promising some of the changes outlined Tuesday.

Biden officials did not spell out when the immigration blueprint would be fully implemented, but they also included planned longer term changes, such as setting up asylum processing inside Central American countries, expanding available work visas and providing humanitarian aid to the region.

Tuesday’s announcement also noted how the administration hopes to apply asylum law in accordance with international standards. In June, Biden officials had previously reversed two Trump-era orders that restricted protections for victims of gang violence and domestic violence.