There has been a rather controversial ban on asylum in the United States for months now. In June 2024, the Biden administration said that asylum would not be allowed until fewer than 1,500 illegal entries were encountered by border patrol agents in a weekly timeframe. In other words, as long as the weekly average for illegal immigration was over 1,500 per day, those seeking asylum would be prohibited from using it. The goal was to stop people from coming over the border without previously getting authorization.
The problem is that there are almost always more than 1,500 people coming across the border on any given day. The average hasn’t been lower than that since the pandemic. While the numbers could theoretically drop, this effectively means that asylum can no longer be used in the United States.
What changes were recently made?
There have been lawsuits over this, including one from the American Civil Liberties Union. But it doesn’t appear to have changed, and asylum is actually becoming even more restrictive.
The biggest change is that the administration recently extended the timeframe. Instead of seven days, it is now set at 28 days. If the ban already wasn’t being lifted because authorities did not see a full week with under 1,500 crossings, it seems virtually impossible that they will see low enough numbers for 28 days in a row.
What does the future hold?
This is still a controversial rule that some even claim is illegal, and it does raise significant questions about the future. Will asylum be banned forever? Will the ban eventually be lifted? Immigrants and their families need to understand all of their legal options at this time.
