WASHINGTON (CN) — Dozens of Democratic lawmakers are calling on the White House to end expedited screening of asylum-seekers, saying the “rushed practice” allows little access to legal counsel.
Thirteen senators and 53 members of the House of Representatives signed the letter, which was sent on Tuesday to the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security.
“Due process is a right and value enshrined in our nation’s history, the letter says. “Affording people fair adjudication — including adequate time to obtain evidence, prepare one’s case, and obtain and work with counsel — is particularly key for individuals fleeing life-threatening harm or torture.”
The Biden administration ramped up expedited screenings as it ended the pandemic-related asylum restriction known as Title 42. The Trump-era policy allowed for quicker expulsion of migrants on public health grounds before they could seek asylum and was used more than 2 million times.
Officials introduced immigration processing centers in other countries where asylum-seekers would be required to apply before they could be considered for entry into the United States.
While thousands of people have been put through expedited screenings since the policy changed in the spring, only a fraction have received legal counsel.
Asylum-seekers in Border Patrol custody are being required to undergo "credible fear interviews" within one day of their arrival in the U.S., a system the lawmakers said is “inherently problematic because of the recency of the trauma many are fleeing and the carceral nature of CBP custody."
Responding to the new policies, the National Immigrant Justice Center announced Tuesday it would no longer serve asylum-seekers at the border. The move followed “more than two months attempting to overcome obstruction by the Biden administration that made it impossible to provide meaningful legal information and representation for most people seeking asylum.”
"The Biden administration continues to create barriers to justice and increase its dependence on legal services organizations to provide a veneer of due process to its policies, without actually allowing people in its custody to communicate with lawyers who have stepped up to help,” Mary McCarthy, executive director of the coalition, said in a press release.
Lawyers also are not allowed to physically access Border Patrol facilities, so asylum-seekers are only able to get counsel over the phone, the lawmakers’ letter says.
“Navigating U.S. laws and agencies in a foreign language and while detained would prove dizzying for most asylum-seekers,” the letter says. “Undergoing fear screenings in CBP custody would therefore present insurmountable challenges even if every asylum-seeker had an attorney by their side.”
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