Democratic lawmakers slam the lack of attorney access for asylum-seekers in Border Patrol custody
FILE - Migrants wait to be processed after crossing the border, Jan. 6, 2023, near Yuma, Ariz. Dozens of Democratic members of Congress are asking the Biden administration to end expedited screening of asylum-seekers in Border Patrol custody, calling it a “rushed practice” that has allowed little access to legal counsel.
FILE - Migrants wait to be processed after crossing the border, Jan. 6, 2023, near Yuma, Ariz. Dozens of Democratic members of Congress are asking the Biden administration to end expedited screening of asylum-seekers in Border Patrol custody, calling it a “rushed practice” that has allowed little access to legal counsel.
(AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)
Associated Press
Updated Tue, August 1, 2023
WASHINGTON (AP) — Dozens of Democratic members of Congress asked the Biden administration Tuesday to end expedited screening of asylum-seekers in Border Patrol custody, calling it a “rushed practice” that has allowed little access to legal counsel.
As the administration prepared to launch speedy screenings at Border Patrol holding facilities this spring , authorities pledged access to counsel would be a key difference from a Trump-era version of the policy. So far, that promise appears unfulfilled.
A coterie of involved attorneys estimated that perhaps 100 migrants secured formal representation in the first three months of the policy, The Associated Press reported last month, and only hundreds more have received informal advice through one-time phone calls ahead of the expedited screenings. That represents a mere fraction of the thousands of expedited screenings since early April, though authorities have not provided a precise count.
The letter to the Homeland Security and Justice Departments, signed by 13 senators and 53 members of the House of Representatives, said conducting the “credible fear” interviews as little as 24 hours after arrival in a holding facility was “inherently problematic,” especially without access to counsel.
“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 letter states.
Those signing include Alex Padilla of California, chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Rep. Nanette Barragán of California, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
The Homeland Security Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Also Tuesday, the National Immigrant Justice Center said it would no longer serve asylum-seekers in Border Patrol custody “after more than two months attempting to overcome obstruction by the Biden administration that made it impossible to provide meaningful legal information and representation.” The group says it has represented about 30 people under the new policy.
The administration ramped up the speedy screenings as it ended pandemic-related asylum restrictions, known as Title 42 authority, and introduced new rules that make it far more difficult for people to seek asylum without applying online outside the U.S. or first seeking protection in a country they pass through.
The percentage of people who passed asylum screenings fell to 60% during the first half of July, after the fast-track process picked up, down from 77% the second half of March, just before it began.
The administration has faced criticism from immigration advocates that the new rules ignore obligations under U.S. and international law to provide asylum and from those backing restrictions who say authorities are acting too generously through the online appointment system, which admits up to 1,450 people a day, and parole for up to 30,000 a month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
Associated Press
Updated Tue, August 1, 2023
WASHINGTON (AP) — Dozens of Democratic members of Congress asked the Biden administration Tuesday to end expedited screening of asylum-seekers in Border Patrol custody, calling it a “rushed practice” that has allowed little access to legal counsel.
As the administration prepared to launch speedy screenings at Border Patrol holding facilities this spring , authorities pledged access to counsel would be a key difference from a Trump-era version of the policy. So far, that promise appears unfulfilled.
A coterie of involved attorneys estimated that perhaps 100 migrants secured formal representation in the first three months of the policy, The Associated Press reported last month, and only hundreds more have received informal advice through one-time phone calls ahead of the expedited screenings. That represents a mere fraction of the thousands of expedited screenings since early April, though authorities have not provided a precise count.
The letter to the Homeland Security and Justice Departments, signed by 13 senators and 53 members of the House of Representatives, said conducting the “credible fear” interviews as little as 24 hours after arrival in a holding facility was “inherently problematic,” especially without access to counsel.
“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 letter states.
Those signing include Alex Padilla of California, chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Rep. Nanette Barragán of California, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
The Homeland Security Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Also Tuesday, the National Immigrant Justice Center said it would no longer serve asylum-seekers in Border Patrol custody “after more than two months attempting to overcome obstruction by the Biden administration that made it impossible to provide meaningful legal information and representation.” The group says it has represented about 30 people under the new policy.
The administration ramped up the speedy screenings as it ended pandemic-related asylum restrictions, known as Title 42 authority, and introduced new rules that make it far more difficult for people to seek asylum without applying online outside the U.S. or first seeking protection in a country they pass through.
The percentage of people who passed asylum screenings fell to 60% during the first half of July, after the fast-track process picked up, down from 77% the second half of March, just before it began.
The administration has faced criticism from immigration advocates that the new rules ignore obligations under U.S. and international law to provide asylum and from those backing restrictions who say authorities are acting too generously through the online appointment system, which admits up to 1,450 people a day, and parole for up to 30,000 a month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
Nearly 250,000 migrants crossed Panama's Darien Gap so far this year, more than in all of 2022
Migrants line up to take a boat after walking across the Darien Gap from Colombia, in Bajo Chiquito, Panama, May 7, 2023. The nation has also become the epicenter of a steady flow of migration through the perilous jungles of the Darien Gap running along the Colombia-Panama border.
AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko
Associated Press
Mon, July 31, 2023
PANAMA CITY (AP) — The number of migrants crossing Panama’s dangerous, jungle-clad Darien Gap swelled to almost 250,000 in the first seven months of 2023, surpassing the number that crossed in all of 2022, officials said Friday.
It is a record pace of migration through the gap, which connects South America to Central America. The surge comes despite an agreement announced in April between the United States, Colombia and Panama to offer alternatives to migration.
The United Nations projects that if the pace keeps up, as many as 400,000 may cross the gap by the year’s end. Experts say it would be hard to crack down on the smuggling gangs that operate the route.
Panama's National Immigration service said 248,901 migrants had made the trip through July 31, and that 21% of those crossing were children or adolescents.
Security Minister Juan Manuel Pino confirmed that was higher than last year's total.
Migrants from South America — mainly Venezuelans — use the Darien Gap to travel be land through Central America and to the U.S. southwestern border. But a host of people from other places, including Africa and Asia, travel to South America to use the gap as well.
In April, The United States, Panama and Colombia said in a joint statement said the countries will use “new lawful and flexible pathways for tens of thousands of migrants and refugees as an alternative to irregular migration."
The also involved investment to reduce poverty and create jobs in the Colombian and Panamanian border communities, presumably so fewer people work at smuggling migrants.
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