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A2 u.s. news
Tuesday 2 May 2023
U.S. readies second attempt at speedy border asylum screenings

By ELLIOT SPAGAT Border Patrol agents, and drew, according to the
Associated Press everyone will have access Government Accountabil-
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Presi- to legal counsel. ity Office.
dent Joe Biden scrapped The decision to use fast- Those who get past initial
expedited asylum screen- track screenings comes as screenings are generally
ings during his first month in COVID-19 asylum restric- freed in the United States
office as part of a gutting of tions are set to expire on to pursue their cases in im-
Trump administration bor- May 11 and the U.S. gov- migration court, which typi-
der polices that included ernment prepares for an cally takes four years. Crit-
building a wall with Mexico. expected increase in ille- ics say the court backlog
Now he's preparing his own gal crossings from Mexico. encourages more people
version. The Texas border cities of El to seek asylum.
Donald Trump's fast-track Paso, Laredo and Browns- To pass screenings, mi-
reviews drew sharp criticism ville have declared local grants must convince an
from internal government states of emergency in re- asylum officer they have
watchdog agencies as the cent days to prepare for a "significant possibility" of Migrants who crossed the border from Mexico into the U.S. wait
percentage of people who the anticipated influx. prevailing before a judge next to the U.S. border wall where U.S. Border Patrol agents stand
passed those "credible fear Normally, about three in on arguments that they guard, seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Thursday, March 30,
interviews" plummeted. four migrants pass cred- face persecution in their 2023. Associated Press
But the Biden administra- ible fear interviews, though home countries on grounds
tion has insisted its speedy far fewer eventually win of race, religion, nation-
screening for asylum-seek- asylum. But during the five ality, political opinion or those who don't qualify will ing to Hawkins and others
ers is different: Interviews months of the Trump-era membership in a social be deported "in a matter of briefed. The administration
will be done exclusively program, only 23% passed group. days or just a few weeks," began limited screening
by U.S. Citizenship and Im- the initial screening, while Under the Biden adminis- Homeland Security Secre- this month in Donna, Tex-
migration Services, not by 69% failed and 9% with- tration's fast-track program, tary Alejandro Mayorkas as, in the Rio Grande Val-
said Thursday. ley, and later expanded to
The expedited screenings large tents in other border
will be applied only to sin- cities, including San Diego;
gle adults, Mayorkas said. Yuma, Arizona; and El Paso,
Despite the administration's Texas.
assurances that people Mayorkas, a former federal
will have access to legal prosecutor, didn't speak
services, some immigrant in detail about access to
advocates who were legal counsel in remarks
briefed by the administra- Thursday about a broad
tion are doubtful. Katherine strategy that, in addition
Hawkins, senior legal ana- to the screenings, includes
lyst at the Project on Gov- processing centers in Gua-
ernment Oversight, noted temala, Colombia and
that advocates were told potentially elsewhere for
attorneys would not be al- people to come legally to
lowed inside holding facili- the U.S. through an airport.
ties. "We have expanded our
The Trump administration holding capacity and set
used fast-track reviews up equipment and proce-
from October 2019 until dures so that individuals
March 2020, when it began have the ability to access
using a 1944 public health counsel," Mayorkas said.
law known as Title 42 to The Homeland Security De-
expel immigrants on the partment's inspector gen-
grounds of preventing the eral took issue with lack of
spread of COVID-19. The legal representation under
speedy screenings were Trump's expedited screen-
among Trump-era immi- ing. There were four cord-
gration polices that Biden less phones for migrants to
rolled back in a February share when screenings be-
2021 executive order. gan in El Paso. Guards took
Unlike the Trump adminis- them to a shack to consult
tration, the Biden adminis- attorneys.
tration won't limit migrants Phone booths were later
to just one phone call. But installed but didn't have
it's unclear how many calls handsets for safety reasons,
U.S. authorities can facili- forcing migrants to speak
tate, especially if there is loudly and within earshot of
no answer and attorneys people outside, the inspec-
call back, Hawkins said. tor general said.
Screenings initially will be Facilities built under Biden
limited to Spanish-speak- are more spacious with
ing countries to which plenty of phone booths,
the U.S. has regular de- according to people who
portation flights, accord- have visited.q