The rules proposed by the Biden administration for migrants seeking asylum would severely restrict people fleeing devastated countries from seeking protection in the United States. The rules would limit who can apply for asylum by imposing tough requirements that would limit eligibility at a time of historic global migration.

Are

a misguided, inhumane attempt to deter migrants from arriving at the US-Mexico border

that makes it more difficult, if not impossible, for asylum seekers to exercise their right to appear at the border and request refuge

.

The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice issued the guidelines last week ahead of the possible end of

the use of

Title 42, a Trump-era public health order that allows U.S. border officials to deport most migrants seeking asylum. The COVID-19 public health order ends on May 11, and with it possibly

the

Title 42

-based policy,

which cited the threat of the coronavirus as a basis for not allowing migrants entry.

Biden tried to end that policy, but whatever

prevented from doing so

mainly because of legal challenges by Republicans.

the

proposed rules of the administration

would require migrants to first apply for asylum in another country while on their way to the United States, or make an appointment through the CBPOne app, a US government app

which that

is full of problems. (It requires an appointment for each person, which makes it difficult for families, who then have to decide whether to split up or wait indefinitely until they have a place for each family member.) Migrants who don’t meet the conditions end up not eligible to apply for asylum in the U.S. The only exception would be for migrants who can demonstrate exceptional circumstances, such as a medical emergency or

extreme and imminent threat to their life or safety, such as an imminent threat of rape, kidnapping, torture or murder.

The guidelines are impractical for people fleeing persecution and effectively remove legal avenues for seeking asylum.

the

The Biden administration has been introduced

rules would interchange one inhumane policy for another

of the president

pledge to create a more orderly asylum process that would not cause unnecessary human suffering.

T

Hey United States

must check access on

its limits, but it should do so humanely.

Under international law, people have the right to seek asylum if they fear persecution or harm in their home country because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group. The whole process of applying for asylum is rigorous and approval can take years due to overdue immigration courts. In 2022, US authorities granted less than 14% of asylum applications. Those who do not qualify for asylum may be deported.

The challenge for US officials is to find a way to deal with an unprecedented number of migrants seeking asylum due to increasing political and economic instability, particularly in undemocratic countries such as Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba and Nicaragua. Volatile conditions in those countries

has had

displaced migrants from their homes, accounting for a large share of the historic 2.2 million border patrol encounters, defined as detentions or deportations

along the US-Mexico border during fiscal year 2022. In comparison, Border Patrol had approximately 1.2 million encounters per year between 1983 and 2006. security.

Certainly, Biden’s difficulty in dealing with security on the US-Mexico border has been exacerbated by

the wave of migrants. Hi

inherent in an immigration system hampered by harsh policies

adopted

during the Trump presidency that effectively closed the door on most asylum seekers and separated migrant children from their parents upon arrival in the United States

,

including title 42. But he’s now embracing a similar strategy

of limiting fitness

with the proposed

asylum

regulations. It’s a plan that

largely replicates

an asylum ban imposed by the Trump administration that was overturned by the courts.

Biden officials perversely quote the new rules

,

which

would come into effect

after a period of 30 days

by

public comment

and expires in two years

, as a form of deterrence, pointing out that border patrol detentions decreased once migrants were told Title 42 was in effect. They say this policy protects migrants by removing the incentive to travel to the United States, but this reasoning ignores the fact that migrants will continue to make near-impossible attempts to find safe shelter and employment.

Biden is under intense political pressure to deal effectively with the historic number of migrants at the border. Ultimately, it’s up to Congress to pass

legislation

to overhaul a busy, inefficient one

immigration

Meanwhile, he can help create a more orderly system for processing asylum seekers by expanding the capacity of border authorities to deal with arriving migrants and immigration courts to handle cases quickly. That would be a more humane way of complying with the country’s legal obligation to asylum seekers than summarily deporting them or refusing to hear their case.