President Trump issued a memo on Monday evening that outlines changes to the asylum process to take effect in 90 days. The changes will “bar certain asylum seekers from obtaining work authorization, impose fees on applications, speed up court decisions and limit access to other forms of relief.”
The new regulations are an attempt to control the chaos at the border.
The Trump administration has experimented with a range of policies to discourage the arrival of Central American families and children at the border, but without much discernible success. Federal courts have sidelined several high-profile initiatives, including an attempt late last year to block migrants who cross between ports of entry from seeking asylum.
Meanwhile, the number of border arrests — a metric used to estimate crossings — have risen in recent months. In March, the U.S. Border Patrol arrested nearly 93,000 people at the border, a monthly tally on par with higher immigration levels of the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s.
Expect legal challenges to Trump’s regulatory changes.
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Meanwhile acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan has approved a DHS request to send more troops to the border to help with the crisis. The troops will support the Border Patrol in their duties but not perform an law enforcement activities themselves.
“DoD personnel will not perform any law enforcement functions,” Davis said in a statement. “In any situation that requires DoD personnel to be in proximity to migrants, DHS law enforcement personnel will be present to conduct all custodial and law enforcement functions, and provide force protection of military personnel.”
Currently, there are about 3,000 troops on the border and 2,000 members of the national guard.
Image from Getty Images.