Source: NBC News
On Wednesday, the Trump administration proposed a rule that would make it even harder for immigrants to claim asylum in the U.S. Currently, immigrants seeking asylum have the right to a hearing so long as they can prove that they have a reasonable fear of persecution or torture in their home country. Without a hearing, immigrants will not be able to prove their case in front of a judge with their lawyer present.
This proposed rule would also deny asylum to anyone who spent more than 14 days in another country on their way to the U.S. Given that most immigrants coming from Central America will travel through other countries on their way to the U.S., this rule would essentially block Central Americans from asylum.
The rule will also redefine asylum law as we know it, blocking categories of people from obtaining asylum, such as survivors of domestic assault and individuals targeted by gangs.
The rule will begin accepting public comment on June 15.
To make matters worse, Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) accused the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) of deleting more than 60,000 database records of asylum seekers each month. There are currently 1.2 million cases pending in immigration court, but TRAC has said that “EOIR data on asylum applications is ‘so deficient’ that the ‘public should not rely on [the] accuracy of court records.’”