https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-asylum-memo_n_5cc7c8f5e4b07c9a4ce82527
Dominique Mosbergen reports for HuffPost:
Declaring the U.S. asylum system to be “in crisis,” President Donald Trump directed immigration officials on Monday night to introduce a slew of tough new rules for migrants seeking humanitarian protection in the United States.
The measures, outlined in a presidential memorandum, include the introduction of a fee for asylum applications and banning asylum seekers who’ve entered the U.S. illegally from receiving work permits. The memo also calls for the adjudication of asylum applications within 180 days.
The new rules, Trump said, are aimed at safeguarding “our system against rampant abuse of our asylum process.”
. . . .
It currently costs nothing for someone to file for asylum in the United States and immigration experts have warned that even a small fee could prove to be an impossible burden for some migrants seeking refuge. As The Washington Post noted, a vast majority of countries do not impose a fee on asylum claims.
“The majority of people coming to the United States seeking asylum are coming with little more than the shirts on their back,” Victoria Neilson, a former official at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, told Reuters.
Trump, who’s repeatedly lambasted migrants for exploiting what he says are legal loopholes in the asylum system, also ordered asylum seekers who’ve entered the country illegally to be banned from obtaining work authorization “before any applicable application for relief or protection from removal has been granted.” Currently, asylum seekers who’ve entered the U.S. both legally and illegally are allowed to work while their claims are pending.
“There’s a reason that we give people work permits while they are waiting for asylum, so that they can support themselves and don’t have to be depending on government assistance during that time,” Michelle Brané of the Women’s Refugee Commission told The New York Times.
. . . .
The memo also demands that all asylum applications, save for those involving “exceptional circumstances,” are adjudicated in immigration court within 180 days of filing.
As the Post noted, U.S. law already dictates that asylum cases are adjudicated within that time ― but due to an overwhelming number of cases and inadequate resources, asylum seekers can often wait years before their claims are processed.
“The provision to process cases in 180 days has been on the books for over two decades,” Ashley Tabaddor, president of the immigration judges’ union, told the paper. “The problem is that we have never been given adequate resources to adjudicate those claims in a timely fashion.”
Trump has directed Attorney General William Barr and Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan to introduce the new asylum regulations within 90 days. Immigration advocates, however, are expected to challenge the measures in court.
The administration is already involved in several court battles over earlier changes to U.S. asylum rules, including the so-called “remain in Mexico” policy requiring some asylum seekers to return to Mexico to await court hearings.
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QUICK TAKES:
- Regulatory Incompetence. Changing legal regulations requires 1) notice and an opportunity for public comment; and 2) a rational legal explanation for the proposed changes. So far, the Trump Administration has shown little ability for either. Indeed both their “preferred method” of policy change by “Executive Action” (e.g., DACA) and past attempts to change regulations (e.g., barring asylum for illegal entrants) have often ended up blocked or modified by the courts.
- Time Limits Don’t Work. The current law, INA s. 208(d)(5)(A)(iii), already provides a statutory 180 day limit for asylum adjudications. But it has never been achievable in practice for various reasons including due process, chronic understaffing of Immigration Courts, and unavailability of private counsel. It might be possible to develop a system that could fairly process the vast majority of asylum claims through the Immigration Judge level within 180 days. But, that would require three things that an Administration committed to “malicious incompetence” has rejected: 1) clearing most of the 1.3 million backlogged cases off Immigration Court dockets through aggressive use of “prosecutorial discretion” (“PD”) as a first step toward a much-needed legalization program; 2) working cooperatively with NGOs, states, and municipalities to provide universal representation of asylum seekers; and 3) granting many more asylum cases at the Asylum Office and Immigration Court level.
- The Administration Doesn’t Control Article III Courts (Yet). As the Immigration Courts and the BIA become more biased against asylum seekers, more individuals will seek review by the Article III Courts. The number of cases in the Article IIIs, who operate largely beyond the Administration’s control, is likely to grow exponentially. “Fake timetables” (on top of the mindless “deportation quotas” already in effect for Immigration “Judges”) result in “haste makes waste” poor quality at EOIR that, in turn, leads to lots of remands from the Article IIIs, thereby further clogging the Administrative system.
- “Asylum Only” Hearings Aren’t Substantively Different From “Full” Removal Hearings. Trump reportedly would like to limit asylum seekers to “Asylum Only” hearings where asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture are the only forms of relief available. But, few recently arrived asylum seekers apply for other forms of relief “right off the bat.” The major difference is often eligibility for bond in a “full removal hearing.” But, AG Barr has already acted to make most who pass “credible fear” ineligible for bond in his recent precedent Matter of M-S-, overruling 15 years of contrary BIA law originating in the Bush II Administration. The due process limitations on indefinite detention of asylum seekers will be fought out in the Article IIIs regardless of whether the Administration uses “Asylum Only Proceedings” or “Full Removal Proceedings.” And, so far, the Administration has consistently lost on the Constitutional issue in the lower Federal Courts.
- Article IIIs Have Already Slammed This Administration’s Prior Attempts To Illegally Misconstrue Asylum Law To Reduce The Number Of Positive “Credible Fear” Determinations. Sessions & Nielsen already unsuccessfully tried to game the credible fear system against legitimate asylum seekers. They were strongly rebuked by U,S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan (DC) in Grace v. Whitaker. Judge Sullivan barred Immigration Judges from using most of Session’s erroneous Matter of A-B- precedent in “credible fear reviews.” He also required USCIS to rewrite its “Credible Fear” instructions to restore the generous intent of the law. It’s likely that what Trump is seeking to do will run afoul of Judge Sullivan’s order. Sullivan isn’t afraid to hold Cabinet officials accountable. So, while Trump himself might be beyond the court’s reach, “Trump‘s Chumps” McAleenan and Barr might want to have their jail bags packed and check their personal liability insurance before accepting Trump’s invitation to violate the law. Also, the Administration’s actual and threatened misuse of “expedited removal” in an attempt to implement a “lawless credible fear” policy has inspired the Ninth Circuit to recognize a right to appeal to the Article IIIs, even in expedited removal. THURAISSIGIAM v. USDHS, https://immigrationcourtside.com/2019/03/07/9th-cir-says-statute-barring-meaningful-judicial-review-of-expedited-removal-process-violates-constitutions-suspension-clause-throws-monkey-wrench-into-administra/ In other words, the field that Trump is mindlessly ordering McAleenan and Barr to plow has already been largely ruled “off limits” by the Article IIIs.
- While Imposing Fees For Asylum Applications Is Undoubtedly Cruel, Unnecessary, & Unprecedented, It Won’t Be A Long-Term Deterrent. By misusing “metering” to make it difficult or impossible to apply for asylum at legal ports of entry the Administration already has increased smuggling fees, made routes more dangerous for asylum seekers, and predictably increased the number of illegal entries to apply for asylum; but, it hasn’t “deterred” asylum seekers. It just shifted the traffic from legal ports of entry where it could have been more easily controlled to other places on the border, where it’s harder to control. Stupid? Yeah, of course. Basically, the Trump Administration now wants to get in on the financial bonanza it has created for human smugglers by charging its own version of illicit fees. While cruel and punitive, it’s unlikely to have much impact on the flow of refugees.
- Denial Of Work Authorization Will Create Hardship, Without Deterrence, & Actually Hurt Our Economy. Under current law, asylum seekers can’t get work authorization for at least 180 days. If the Administration really were able to fairly process asylum applications in that period, there actually wouldn’t be much need for work authorization. Also, work authorization doesn’t apply to those detained for asylum hearings and most juveniles. Assuming that legitimate asylum applicants continue to get released and shunted into the backlogged Immigration Court system, denial of work authorization will deprive them of the opportunity to use their (usually ample) skills to be self-supporting and contribute to our economy, regardless of whether they ultimately are granted asylum. Many such folks will now be forced into the “underground economy” where they are more likely to be both underemployed and exploited by unscrupulous employers. Trump is turning a “win-win” into a “lose-lose.” But, it’s unlikely to deter those fleeing for their lives.
- Eventually, Trump’s “Malicious Incompetence Approach” Might Convince Asylum Seekers That Our Legal System Is A Cruel Farce That Must Be Avoided. Smugglers will simply take refugees into the interior of the U.S. for higher fees. They will stop turning themselves in to use a bogus legal system. Some will die; a few will get caught and removed; but, the chances of entering illegally and losing oneself in the U.S. for as long as one wants are probably much better than the chances of getting legal asylum in Trump’s increasingly bogus, biased, and dishonest system.
- Two Things Are For Certain: 1) Desperate People Will Continue To Come No Matter What Trump Does On This End; and 2) Once Trump Destroys The Legal Asylum & Immigration Systems, They Won’t Easily Be Rebuilt. The result will be a permanent “immigration underground/black market.” That’s a “lose-lose” that will be horrible for migrants, but even worse for America’s future.
Coming up: A New Washington Post/ABC Poll Shows Little Public Support For Trump’s Harsher Asylum Policies.
PWS
04-30-19