VULNERABLE BIDEN TRIES TO STRADDLE BOTH SIDES WITH NEW ASYLUM RULES
“There is already a nearly impossibly high standard when it comes to asylum adjudications, and eligibility for asylum,” said Faisal Al-Juburi, chief external affairs officer at Raíces, an immigrant support and advocacy group in Texas. “I think this stands to exacerbate further what is a manufactured crisis at the end of the day.”
The effectiveness of the proposed rule will hinge on its implementation, said Laurence Benenson, vice-president of policy and advocacy at the National Immigration Forum, a centrist advocacy group. “There are some real concerns about whether people who have legitimate claims are just going to be turned back,” he said …
Al-Juburi rejected the administration’s claims that the proposed changes would only affect a small number of people who are ineligible for asylum anyway. It would, he said, empower officers at the border without specialised training to make quick judgements about migrants who lack legal counsel.
“If you have any sort of criminal background based on being persecuted by a foreign government – maybe even for your own stance against that government – you could fall through the cracks and be turned away.”
