Back from the backlogs
When it comes to the southern border, there is very little that our political leaders all agree on, with the far-right in particular focused on distorting facts on the ground and ignoring laws meant to protect the vulnerable. Undisputed is that the current process to resolve defensive asylum claims is unwieldy and incredibly backed up, with the immigration courts surpassing 1.7 million pending cases earlier this year, up from some 630,000 just five years ago.
This is a morass more than a system. Cases take years to even begin in earnest. Legitimate asylum claimants are forced to spend this time in limbo as their evidence goes stale and circumstances shift, while those who don’t qualify still get years to settle in and set down roots.
Republicans have long been clamoring for a more streamlined process, which makes it especially ironic that GOP senators mounted a failed effort to block a new Biden administration policy, which went into effect Tuesday, to accomplish just that. The phased-in policy would allow trained personnel from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services — who already handle asylum claims made by legal visitors, as well as applications like residency and citizenship — to issue asylum determinations for migrants arriving at the border.
Showing their true colors, the possibility that a good percentage of these determinations might wind up in the granting of asylum claims (again, issued by career staff with a firm grasp on the law) is unacceptable to Republican policymakers, who want efficiency only so long as it mostly results in denials. Their grousing aside, this is a positive step that should take adjudication times from years to months and relieve pressure on overwhelmed immigration courts. While migrants will be able to appeal USCIS denials, these will be put on expedited court dockets that must be completed within about three months.
Migrants arriving by the thousands to seek asylum is simply our reality for the foreseeable future. U.S. officials have a responsibility to hear the claims — then rule fairly and expeditiously.