Judge Strikes Down Biden Asylum Policy

Facts

• On Tuesday, US District Judge Ton Tigar of the Northern District of California blocked asylum rules that Pres. Biden’s administration adopted after COVID-related restrictions ended in May.¹
• The order, which says that authorities can’t continue denying migrants asylum if they arrive at the US-Mexico border without previously applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through, won’t take effect immediately so the administration can appeal.¹
• In finding that the president’s policies violated prior asylum laws, Tigar wrote that Congress didn’t intend for asylum-seeking migrants “who enter between ports of entry” to have more obstacles placed in front of them before making their claims.²
• A White House spokesperson said the Dept. of Justice (DOJ) will appeal the ruling and seek to extend the 14-day stay, while Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said his department is “confident” the asylum policy is legal.³
• The Biden policy replaced Title 42 — a Trump-era rule that allowed US border officials to turn away migrants on public health grounds.⁴
• Government statistics show that migrant apprehensions at the border dropped 42% from May to June after the new policy took effect.⁴

Sources: ¹Associated Press, ²NPR Online News, ³Roll Call, and ⁴CBS.

Narratives

• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Al Jazeera. The harsh restrictions the Biden administration has been placing on migrants are illegal, and the admin. knew this because the same judge rejected similar restrictions during the Trump era. Continuing to fight in the courts to keep these restrictions in place puts thousands of families in grave danger, so the White House should drop its case immediately.
• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Politico. Biden’s asylum policy has been a key driver in reducing the number of illegal border crossings and taming the southern border. The rule is legal because — unlike the Trump-era rule — this policy allows for some exceptions for people showing up at the border without adhering to it and offers multiple legal pathways to obtain asylum before arriving at the border. This fined-tuned immigration policy is worth fighting for.