Biden Admin to Hold Migrants’ ‘credible fear’ Screenings in CBP Facilities as Border Prepares for Surge; U.S. to Test Expedited Asylum Screenings at Mexico Border

Biden admin to hold migrants’ ‘credible fear’ screenings in CBP facilities as border prepares for surge:

Title 42 expulsions are scheduled to end on May 11

The Biden administration will soon begin holding “credible fear” screenings for migrants claiming asylum at Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities as the Department of Homeland Security gears up for a potential surge in migrants next month when the Title 42 public health order ends.

DHS confirmed to Fox News Digital that the agency is working with legal service providers “to provide access to legal services for individuals who receive credible fear interviews in CBP custody.”

“This is part of a planning effort underway to initiate a process that would allow migrants to receive credible fear interviews from specially trained U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services [USCIS] officers while still in [CBP] custody,” spokesperson Marsha Espinosa said.

The credible fear interview is the first step for migrants claiming asylum and is a significantly lower bar than the ultimate asylum decision, which can take years to be decided in immigration court. It requires that migrants show there is a “significant possibility” they could establish before an immigration judge a credible fear of persecution if they were returned to their country of origin.

While the ultimate decision is made by a federal judge, credible fear screenings are typically carried out by USCIS. Some Republicans have expressed concern that many migrants are being released into the U.S. without even being referred for a credible fear hearing.

CNN first reported the development, which it said would take place on a pilot basis.

DHS stressed that that would still be the case in the new program, but that they will just be in CBP custody. —>READ MORE HERE

U.S. to test expedited asylum screenings at Mexico border:

Migrants who enter the United States illegally will be screened by asylum officers while in custody under a limited experiment that provides them access to legal counsel, the Department of Homeland Security said Friday.

The new approach will start with a tiny number of migrants next week. Officials said the trial run is part of preparations for the end of a pandemic-related rule expected on May 11 that has suspended rights to seek asylum for many.

If expanded, the new screening could bring major change to how people are processed upon reaching U.S. soil to seek asylum.

Homeland Security officials said they will begin working with a legal services provider they declined to name that will represent asylum-seekers at initial screenings, known as “credible fear hearings.” Access to legal representation will be critical to the plan moving ahead, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that have not been publicly announced.

The screening interviews will be conducted in large U.S. Customs and Border Protection temporary facilities stocked with phone lines that will be used for the hearings, officials said. CBP policy limits detention to 72 hours, which will be the target to complete the screenings.

President Donald Trump introduced expedited screening while in CBP custody but his successor, Joe Biden, scrapped it his first week in office. Biden administration officials say the new attempt differs by ensuring access to legal counsel and requiring that screenings be done by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services asylum officers, not Border Patrol agents, as happened under Trump. —>READ MORE HERE

Source