Biden’s Proclamation On Immigration Permits Fears Asylum Seekers May Cite To Avoid Deportation

 On Tuesday, President Joe Biden issued a proclamation to address illegal immigration at the southern border, outlining areas where an immigrant can claim various fears to avoid deportation.

An internal memo from Immigration and Customs Enforcement obtained by the Washington Free Beacon states that Biden’s Presidential Proclamation, Securing the Border, was followed by an Interim Final Rule (IFR) from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Attorney General Merrick Garland “establishing certain limitations on asylum eligibility and revising certain standards and procedures associated with the expedited removal process.”

The document said that the IFR “makes key changes to asylum processing that will be in place whenever encounters are at levels that impede DHS’ ability to apply timely decisions and consequences to the majority of noncitizens encountered at the southern border, as described in the Proclamation.”

“These changes include: deeming certain noncitizens who enter across the southern border during circumstances of high encounters at the border to be ineligible for asylum, with limited exceptions; applying a manifestation of fear requirement for those processed for expedited removal to be referred to USCIS for a credible fear interview,” it continued.

CBP “will refer the impacted noncitizen for a credible fear interview before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) only if the noncitizen manifests a fear of return, or expresses an intention to apply for asylum or protection, expresses a fear of persecution or torture, or expresses a fear of return to his or her country or the country of removal,” the document states, adding, “a fear may be manifested verbally, non-verbally, or physically.”

 

The document then listed examples of “verbal, non-verbal, and physical indicators” “indicative of fear of persecution or torture.” Those included stating “I am afraid to go to (country);” “statements that the noncitizen was previously harmed in their home country or country of removal,” “Statements that, if traveling in a family unit or family group, the noncitizen’s family member was previously harmed in home country or proposed country of removal,” “Evidence of physical injury consistent with abuse (e.g., bruises, scars),” “Evidence of self-harm,” and “Non-verbal actions that may indicate fear such as hysteria, trembling, shaking, unusual behavior, changes in tone of voice, incoherent speech patterns, panic attacks, or an unusual level of silence.”