Biden admin to ‘accelerate asylum proceedings’ for illegal aliens

The Biden administration’s Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice recently announced a new process that seeks to “accelerate asylum proceedings” for single adult illegal aliens, according to a Thursday press release.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and Attorney General Merrick Garland released a joint statement unveiling “a new Recent Arrivals (RA) Docket process to more expeditiously resolve immigration cases of certain noncitizen single adults who attempt to cross irregularly between ports of entry at the Southwest border.”

The Biden administration claimed that the new process would allow the departments “to more swiftly impose consequences, including removal, on those without a legal basis to remain in the United States and to more swiftly grant immigration relief or protections to noncitizens with valid claims.”

'Individuals who do not qualify for relief can be removed more quickly and those who do qualify can achieve protection sooner.'

“The Justice Department also submitted to the Federal Register a final rule to promote efficient case and docket management in immigration proceedings,” the department’s press release read.

It acknowledged that under the administration’s current process, illegal immigrants “often wait years before receiving a final decision in an immigration court proceeding.” The department cited “insufficient resources,” including judges and attorneys, as the reason for the lengthy court proceedings.

The DHS will “place certain noncitizen single adults on the RA Docket” to have their cases prioritized for adjudication. The new process will operate out of Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City, the DOJ reported.

Illegal aliens placed on the RA Docket should receive a final decision on their asylum claim within 180 days, the department claimed. It noted that the timing of each final decision “will remain subject to case-specific circumstances and due process guarantees.”

The Biden administration still insisted that the so-called bipartisan border security legislation, which was shot down by Republican lawmakers in February, would need to pass to grant the DHS and the DOJ “additional authorities and resources that are critically needed,” including additional immigration judges, asylum officers, support staff, and other needed authorities.

“Congress should take up and pass this legislation to fix our broken immigration system,” Biden’s DOJ wrote.

Mayorkas, too, claimed that the new process was “no substitute for the sweeping and much-needed changes that the bipartisan Senate bill would deliver, but in the absence of Congressional action we will do what we can to most effectively enforce the law and discourage irregular migration.”

He stated that the action would “accelerate asylum proceedings so that individuals who do not qualify for relief can be removed more quickly and those who do qualify can achieve protection sooner.”

Garland claimed that the new measures would help to “ensure that immigration cases are adjudicated promptly and fairly.”

As of December, three million asylum cases were being considered, with illegal immigrants given court dates multiple years out in the future.

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