Asylum gives people the option to seek protection in the United States, even when they enter the country illegally. They typically need to show that they were in fear for their life in their home country and they felt the only safe option was to come to America. They may have illegally crossed the border in an emergency, and now they want to seek asylum so that they can stay in the USA and receive protection.
The way that asylum is treated moving forward could be changing. The Biden Administration recently released a new rule that caps daily asylum claims at 2,500 people. Once 2,500 immigrants have illegally crossed the border, the cap has been met and others will be deported instead of given the option to seek asylum.
Why is this significant?
This is a major change because reports indicate there are roughly 4,000 people coming across the southern border of the United States each day. In the past, simply getting over the border may have been their goal, as it would at least give them the option to seek asylum. But this is no longer possible for roughly 1,500 people, who will simply be rounded up and removed from the country because they’ve exceeded the limit. Will this change their goal or how they approach immigration?
There are already stories about this happening. One woman came over with her child, citing excessive violence in the part of Mexico where she previously lived. She had heard that a limit was going to be enforced and rushed through the mountains to get across in time, but she wasn’t fast enough. A border patrol van rounded up her and others, denying them the option to seek asylum.
Will this rule stand indefinitely? That remains to be seen, but it’s so important for asylum seekers to understand all of their legal options.