AP Photo/Christian Chavez
The Biden administration has announced a temporary rule to penalize asylum seekers who cross the US border illegally or do not apply for protection in other nations they pass through on their way to the US. The rule, which takes effect in May and expires after two years, would make it easier for the government to deport border-crossers who express a fear of harm, potentially reducing the number who are allowed into the US pending a hearing in swamped US immigration courts. The policy is aimed at shoring up a potential vulnerability for Biden if he runs for reelection next year, after reversing and eliminating many of the Trump administration’s immigration restrictions.
