Biden aides debate new asylum limits

Proposal builds on Trump’s approach

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is considering substantial new limits on the number of migrants who could apply for asylum in the United States, according to people familiar with the proposal, which would expand restrictions similar to those first put in place along the border by former President Donald Trump.

The plan is one of several being debated by President Joe Biden’s top aides as the country confronts a high number of illegal crossings at the border. It would prohibit migrants who are fleeing persecution from seeking refuge in the United States unless they were first denied safe harbor by another country, like Mexico.

People familiar with the discussions said the new policy, if adopted, could go into effect as soon as this month, just as the government stops using a public health rule that was put in place at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic by the Trump administration and became a key policy to manage the spike in crossings during Biden’s tenure.

A federal judge has ordered the administration to stop using the health rule Dec. 21. But the idea of broadly prohibiting migrants from seeking asylum strikes directly at the heart of decades of U.S. and international law that has shaped the United States’ role as a place of safety for displaced and fearful people across the globe.

It builds on an approach embraced by Trump and Stephen Miller, the architect of the former president’s immigration agenda. Eager to keep migrants out of the United States, the Trump administration imposed what it called a transit ban and refused to consider asylum claims for migrants who had not sought refuge in other countries as they made their way to the U.S. border.

The similarities have enraged human-rights advocates, who recall Biden’s full-throated condemnation of his predecessor’s immigration policies during the 2020 campaign.

People familiar with the internal debate disputed that the Biden administration would embrace a policy that is the same as Trump’s programs. They also said the approach was not final and had not been presented to Biden or Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, for a decision.

One person briefed on the discussions said a new policy, if adopted, would be rolled out alongside expanded opportunities for migrants to come to the United States legally.