Biden Administration Finalizes Sweeping Restriction on Asylum to Ramp Up Deportations of Migrants Crossing U.S.-Mexico Border

The Biden administration has finalized a sweeping restriction on asylum that will be used to ramp up swift deportations of migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border after the Title 42 pandemic-era emergency policy sunsets on Thursday.

According to internal documents obtained by CBS News, the regulation will be a dramatic shift in asylum policy, disqualifying migrants from U.S. protection if they fail to request refugee status in a third country before arriving in the United States.

President Joe Biden is using his presidential authority to quit using Title 42, a health law introduced during the Covid pandemic, to control immigration at the borders with Mexico and Canada. Hundreds of U.S. asylum officers were trained on how to enforce the restriction on Tuesday and the regulation is expected to be published on Wednesday, less than 48 hours before Title 42 is set to expire.

In its place, the administration is rolling out a plan that encourages migrants to use legal pathways, some of them targeted to aid some migrants from certain countries. The plan is expected to be challenged in federal court.

The Biden administration has stated that the new regulation is intended to discourage illegal immigration and to protect the safety of migrants. It is also hoped that the new policy will help to reduce the backlog of asylum cases in the U.S. immigration system.