The Biden administration’s lenient immigration policy has led to a surge in the number of illegal immigrants. As the election approaches, the issue of illegal immigration has become an unavoidable focus of work. The Biden administration is taking more and more measures to stem the influx of illegal immigrants at the US-Mexico border.
According to a report by the Associated Press on Thursday, quoting anonymous sources, the Biden administration is preparing for more reforms to the national asylum system to expedite the processing and deportation of immigrants flooding to the southern border. This is a temporary step in a broader executive order aimed at combatting border crossings that may be introduced later this year.
The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice are expected to announce these new measures on Thursday, targeting swift processing of newly arrived refugees within six months, rather than the years currently required. The new measures will apply to those who cross the border and voluntarily surrender to immigration authorities at entry ports. It will allow certain border arrivals to be processed through a fast-track asylum system, rather than waiting in line at the back.
Historically, refugees arriving in the US have been released into the country, awaiting asylum court hearing dates, a process that often takes several years. The years-long wait within the US has become a driver for the continued influx of illegal immigrants.
Currently, the immigration courts in the US are backlogged with a record 3 million cases, with each judge carrying an average of 5,000 cases. These reforms may not alleviate the workload for judges, as there are only about 600 judges nationwide.
For years, the US government has been trying to expedite the asylum processing procedure, hoping to deport those whose asylum applications are denied within a few months. In 2022, the Biden administration introduced a plan for asylum officers rather than immigration judges to decide on a limited number of family asylum applications in nine cities, but the impact was minimal.
Last year, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began efforts in 45 cities to accelerate initial asylum screenings for families and deport those who did not pass the screening within a month. However, ICE has not disclosed how many families passed the rapid screening and how many were deported.
According to a nationwide survey conducted by the Harvard CAPS and Harris Insights and Analytics in December last year, 82% of Americans believe that the issue of illegal immigration is serious (52% very serious + 30% serious), 70% believe that stricter new immigration policies are needed to mitigate illegal immigration into the US, and over half of the people (57%) believe that Trump’s immigration policy is better than Biden’s immigration policy.