U.S. to Speed Up Asylum Processing at Northern Border to Deter Migrant Crossings

The Biden administration is planning to speed up the processing of asylum-seekers at the U.S.-Canada border in response to an unprecedented increase in migrant crossings there, according to internal Department of Homeland Security documents obtained by CBS News.

The effort involves two changes to how the U.S. processes migrants under a longstanding “Safe Third Country” asylum agreement with Canada. That accord, first signed in 2002 and expanded last year, allows U.S. and Canadian authorities to return asylum-seekers across their shared border under the premise that both nations are safe countries for people to request refuge.

The first change will require migrants to have their documents ready when U.S. asylum officers conduct screenings to determine if they are subject to the agreement with Canada. Previously, migrants could postpone those screenings to gather documents that could prove they merit an exemption to the deal. Certain groups, such as unaccompanied children and those with family members in the U.S., are not subject to the agreement.

The second change will reduce the time migrants have to consult with lawyers before their screenings with U.S. asylum officers to a minimum of four hours, down from a 24-hour minimum. That update matches an identical change made at the U.S.-Mexico border in June, in connection with President Biden’s move to severely restrict asylum there.

Migrants who are subject to the Safe Third Country agreement are barred from U.S. asylum and can be returned to Canada. Those who qualify for an exemption are allowed to request asylum in the U.S. {snip}

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So far in fiscal year 2024, Border Patrol agents have taken into custody 16,500 migrants who crossed the U.S.-Canada border illegally, up from 10,000 in 2023 and just 2,200 in 2022, federal statistics show. The 2024 number is the highest Border Patrol apprehension tally along the northern border on record.

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