SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The Biden administration has proposed a new rule change to the asylum-seeking process. It would allow officers to remove someone ineligible for asylum sooner if they threaten the county's national security or pose a public safety risk.
The Department of Homeland Security announced the proposed rule change as part of its effort to enhance the security of our border, even though it admits only a few people would fall under this rule.
Right now, migrants seeking asylum who present a national security or public safety risk stay in custody until their immigration hearing, but under this proposed rule, the asylum officer could remove the person within days. The process currently can take years.
Jacob Sapochnick, a local immigration attorney, said he doesn't think the rule change will deter people from seeking asylum. Instead, he says, he believes the proposal will lead to more confusion and some people seeking asylum sooner before the rule becomes law.
The new rule has to go through a 30-day comment and review period before it becomes law.
In a statement, Supervisor Jim Desmond, who's been critical of Biden's immigration policies, said the following:
This looks to be nothing more than political posturing and is likely to have little impact on the record amount crossing into San Diego. This administration already implemented a "presumption of ineligibility" after Title 42 ended for most migrants crossing illegally. This has led to a record amount of people crossing our border. This won't deter anyone from coming, as we have seen over 214,000 encounters in San Diego since October.
