New Trump rule would redefine who qualifies for refuge in U.S.
The Trump administration on Wednesday unveiled a series of proposed restrictions to the country's asylum system that would constitute one of the most far-reaching attempts yet to redefine who qualifies for safe harbor on U.S. soil.
A 161-page proposal by the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security would establish additional barriers at all stages of the U.S. asylum process, granting officers and judges more power to deny requests for protections. It would make it more difficult, if not impossible, for foreigners to seek refuge from certain forms of persecution, including gender-based violence, gang threats and torture at the hands of "rogue" government officials.
The draft rule is slated to be formally published in the federal government's journal of regulations on Monday, after which the public will have 30 days to comment on it. The government will then work on publishing a final regulation that may or may not be altered in response to the public comments.
The impact of the rule on humanitarian programs at the southern border will be contingent on when it goes into effect because the administration has been rapidly expelling most unauthorized migrants from there since late March. If enacted, however, the proposed changes would rewrite multiple regulations and affect cases of new border crossers, as well as asylum-seekers already in the U.S.
"If this regulation is finalized and put into place, it would result in many legitimate asylum-seekers being denied the chance to seek refuge in the United States," Sarah Pierce, a policy analyst at the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute, told CBS News. "There are so many provisions in here that make it impossible for even the most meritorious asylum-seekers to get through the U.S. asylum process."
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-rule-redefine-qualifies-refuge-202122237.html
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